WITHDRAWAL FROM PRESCRIPTION DRUGS

That this House congratulates Pam Armstrong of the Council for Information on Tranquilliser and Anti-depressants and Doctor Ghosh Arun and the nursing staff at the Sefton Suite of the Aintree Hospital in Liverpool for setting up the first in-patient withdrawal facility for patients involuntarily addicted to prescription medication; congratulates Sandwell Primary Care Trust, Birmingham for partly funding this facility; further congratulates the Department of Health for undertaking a review of its policy on addiction to prescription medication; and urges the Department of Health to establish a national network of specialist out-patient clinics to treat those addicted to tranquillisers and other prescription medications, and regional in-patient clinics like the Sefton Suite for those too addicted to withdraw at home.