Aug 21 2008
Letter to MHSA #2
Dear Minister,
Until early last year Chronic Pain Sufferers could be prescribed sufficient medication to allow them to live normal lives. The moving of the Drug of Dependence unit of the South Australian Health Commission (now Department of Health) to Drug and Alcohol Services, South Australia (DASSA) has meant that people requiring more than an arbitrary dose of these drugs have been treated as drug addicts and many have been involuntarily referred to DASSA for “treatment”.
As the secretary of Dignity for Chronic Pain Sufferers (DFPS – dfps.org.au) I have been in recent contact with a large number of sufferers, many of whom were former patients of Pain Physician, Dr. Ian Buttfield . I have been both appalled and angered by the stories of anguish and suffering that I have heard. Their doctors are being dictated to by ill informed Public Servants and are having their rights to prescribe severely limited. The result is that patients are no longer being prescribed sufficient drugs to cover their pain and many are experiencing withdrawal symptoms. A large number have been referred to Waranilla and are now being treated as drug addicts. These sufferers live with unrelenting pain for 24 hours a day so it is not surprising that some are talking about suicide, “Doctor Shopping” or purchasing illegal drugs.
The former Minister (The Hon. Gail Gago) refused to speak to sufferers, their families and Medical Practitioners about this change and her only public announcements have obviously been prepared for her by her Public Servants. We are left with the conclusion that the South Australian Government does not care that their policies have led to unnecessary tremendous suffering by some of their citizens. We at DFPS do care and we will be fighting for the rights of chronic pain sufferers to be treated with dignity and for the right of competent Medical Practitioners to be allowed to prescribe sufficient drugs to relieve their suffering. The Chairman of DPFS, Gregory Betros, and I would appreciate an interview with you, at your earliest convenience, to discuss the future care for these poor people.
I want to have my say re people with severe pain who are in need of drugs to help them cope from day to day I think it is disgraceful to think this problem has been passed over to drug rehabilitation. My son suffered a chronic brain tumor and has been on this drug for years after his operation he works and runs a business if
he no longer has this drug he will be reliant on the goverment for support is this what
we want ????? also because he has been sick through no fault of his own he would have to front up to a drug and alcohol clinic for something that would not work
and feel very embarassed. Fair go for all pain sufferers.