Public Servants should allow Life Saving Medical Treatments - Part 2

Please Note, this is a follow up comment on the issue of who the Public Service actually serves.

Yesterday's Part one see -

http://turnitupmike.blogspot.com/2011/08/public-servants-must-serve-public-part.html

Part Two below:

Good Morning Di

The NHMRC the National Health Medical Research Council  http://www.nhmrc.gov.au/about says - in part - it is:
Australia's peak body  for developing health advice on medical research.
The reason I raise this issue is because a number of doctors treating patients, patients who want to recover from their drug addictions, have raised complaints about the NHMRC website and it’s published information on Naltrexone Implants as being inaccurate.

see http://www.nhmrc.gov.au/guidelines/publications/ps0005

They, and many others, are questioning the NHMRC’s motives, conclusions and conflict of interest - in the issue of the NHMRC recent publications and advice on Naltrexone Implants.
http://www.nhmrc.gov.au/guidelines/publications/ps0005

I’ve been across this issue for over a decade and unfortunately rather than the NHMRC base it's advice on sound evidence accepted by experts, experts such as the TGA, and other medical experts http://au.news.yahoo.com/today-tonight/latest/article/-/39984/oneil-naltrexone-implant/ and governments across Australia and around the world, - instead of that -  the panel of 5 people who authored this document gave Naltrexone Implants the thumbs down and the NHMRC document come across as having some anti Naltrexone implant vendetta to carry out.

These are actions of a public body relied upon for it’s advice and instead of best practice the NHMRC publication will deny (see  http://www.mips.com.au/library/news/ALERT-naltrexone-implants) access to a world leading treatment one that for 11 years has safely and effectively helped close to 10,000 patients safely undergo recovery from their drug addictions.

It is a treatment that is 25 times more effective than the next closest recovery option.....
and the NHMRC  call themselves a peak medical body acting in the public interest....Turn It UP.

I’m Michael Robinson



Post scripts and additional comment below further to my on air comments.


This is a controversial isue and one that has seen previous misinformation published - yes, but it is usually by media or campaigners lobbying for alternatives, not professional bodies relied upon to advise governments.

NOTE I include this link to show the misinformation and distortion of the information.  

eg. http://www.smh.com.au/national/in-for-the-quick-fix-20090410-a2w5.html

See other links like these, there are many more, I'll include these two to show some balance. The Federal Government and W.A. Government have helped many patients recover from their drug addictions by funding treatment through this life saving Special Access program.

http://researchonline.nd.edu.au/med_chapters/2/

http://www.peterabetz.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=242&Itemid=119

Australian patients are allowed access to the Naltrexone Implants under a “clinic trial” that many call a loop hole but it is not uncommon in medical treatments as new treatments are developed such clinic trials are able to provide life saving treatment and patients who might otherwise die are allowed to access these clinical trials in the interests of saving their life. For drug addicts this is a life and death issue.  

The basis of such treatment is that the treatment is life saving because addicts could die when using illicit drugs including death from an overdose.  The Naltrexone Implants do not act as a quick fix, but assist in the recovery program helping patients to survive episodes they may use drugs after undergoing detox.

Many critics of the implants say rather than help addicts to detox and put them at risk of of using drugs again and therefore overdosing.  Instead of recovery from addiction these same critics promote unending management of drug addiction and legalisation of drugs or supplementing illicit drug use with government subsidised methadone.  Neither of these options are in the public best interests nor the patients’ health.

The long running public debate over this issue is not about genuine concerns on medical best practice but a handful of people expressing their lack of understanding or personal bias to patients recovering from their addictions.  Naltrexone Implants assist patients in that recovery process and Dr George O’Neill’s Fresh Start Program http://www.freshstart.org.au/  in Perth Western Australia has often been criticised for not providing the same facilities as private clinics around the world.  What should be clearly understand is many of the observed treatments where patients lay on mattresses on the floor etc are for good medical reasons.
Patients often don’t pay all the costs and costs are covered by the charity’s fundraising efforts with no one in need being turned away from the Fresh Start program.  Naltrexone Implants are also offered in other clinics in Australia under the same live saving clinic trial access.

I will continue to follow this issue and I urge those involved to work in the public interest and look at best medical evidence not speculation or fear of new treatments or procedures.

I will be able to provide more information on this issue soon......

Michael

See the Fresh Start website http://www.freshstart.org.au/  for the program run by Dr George O'Neill in Perth. This program is also available in some other clinics around Australia, we need to encourage government support to see it made available in every town and city where people want to recover from their addictions and where this program could be of great assistance for those it is suitable for.

http://www.freshstart.org.au/

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LINKS

http://www.freshstart.org.au/

This week a charity in focus - visit this link

http://pearlchildrenaus.jigsy.com/

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UNDERSTANDING BAR-STOOL ECONOMICS AND THE CARBON TAX

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