Solutions sought for methadone patients

Brodie Cowburn brodie@baysidenews.com.au

THE state government says it is working to provide free pharmacotherapy training for GPs so that more people can access the prescriptions they need.

The planned closure of the private Frankston Healthcare Medical Centre has left hundreds of pharmacotherapy patients in limbo. The centre’s director says that it treats between 400 and 500 patients a week on methadone, sublocade, and suboxone. (“Drug treatment access a big problem” The Times 2/10/2023)

Private medical practices are overwhelmingly carrying the load of pharmacotherapy services in Victoria. A Monash University report released last February found that 50 of Victoria’s 14,804 pharmacotherapy patients were in the public system.

In question time last week, Libertarian Party MP David Limbrick asked the state government what it was doing to support patients affected by the planned closure. Mental health minister Ingrid Stitt said that more funding had been offered to the centre and that more GPs would be trained to treat pharmacotherapy patients.

“The funding of GP pharmacotherapy treatments is the responsibility of the Commonwealth. However, the Victorian government have wanted to ensure that there are no gaps in the services that are provided to a significant number of patients in the Frankston area through this particular GP closing, so we have been working closely with the Commonwealth and also with the south-eastern metropolitan primary health network and our own health services in that part of the city. Pleasingly, the Commonwealth government has provided the clinic with additional funding so it can remain open for an additional four weeks while we work together with the Commonwealth on a more enduring solution in Frankston,” Stitt said.

“We know that there is a prescriber shortage nationwide. That is why, in addition to the work that we are doing to find ongoing solutions in Frankston, we are working alongside the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners and the Department of Health to offer free pharmacotherapy training for GPs so that we can build the number of GPs available across the state that are able to prescribe.

“The issue does remain that many Commonwealth-funded GP clinics choose, sadly, not to provide this kind of specialist addiction service. So, in addition to the Commonwealth efforts, we are also providing funding for surge capacity in Victoria to deal with situations that we have, such as the one in Frankston right now. We also have a broader $10 million investment to expand our pharmacotherapy services and address that service gap.”