Kealan Flynn & Co was engaged by the Western Region Drugs Task Force to research the use and misuse of benzodiazepines and related minor tranquillizers and sedatives in the West of Ireland.

Approach

We adopted a three-pronged approach to the study of this problem, which has also been identified as a country-wide crisis in the National Drug Strategy:

• Desk Research — a trawl and review of the national and international literature.

• Qualitative Research — a series of in-depth interviews with Addiction Counsellors and Substance Misuse Counsellors in the public and not-for-profit sectors; and with people attending a residential treatment centre in Co. Mayo for addiction to benzodiazepines.

• Statistical Analysis — of eight years of prescription records for benzodiazepines and related minor tranquillizers and sedatives, using the most sophisticated computer technology.

Outcome

• We discovered and documented clear evidence of systematic over-use and over-prescribing of benzodiazepines and related minor tranquillizers and sedatives in the case of women, older people, people on low incomes, and people in the GMS Medical Card Scheme.

• We also identified alarming levels of widespread long-term prescribing by GPs, with thousands of people being kept on benzodiazepines and related minor tranquillizers and sedatives for months or even years on end, in breach of long-standing official guidelines issued by the Department of Health & Children and in contravention of good medical practice.

You can download the report here and read the coverage by RTE here