Concerns raised8
Lack of medical review during the initial phase of methadone treatment
Provision of a 7-day methadone supply to a methadone-naive patient
Absence of systems to audit the effectiveness and reliability of the pre-alert system
Failure to conduct a face-to-face consultation before prescribing methadone
Lack of detail regarding drugs taken, usage frequency and dependence before methadone prescribing
Lack of staff knowledge and training for reliable actioning of pre-alert requests
Absence of assessment of psychological issues before methadone prescribing
Failure to convey all relevant clinical information
No linked response statementsNo action or position from this recipient is clearly linked to the concerns in this report.