Probe into prescriptions for cash in addict case

A DOCTOR is under investigation after he was accused of writing codeine based drug prescriptions for heroin addicts in exchange for money.

Medical Association president Dr Andreas Demetriou yesterday confirmed the association was already aware of the issue and said its disciplinary board had plans to examine the accusations made against the specific doctor. He refused, however, to divulge any further details about the case or where the doctor practiced.

“We have the prescriptions and we are investigating whether they should have been written or not. When the investigation is completed we will decide what measures to take,” he said.

Demetriou said the accusation that the said doctor had been writing the prescriptions for a €10 fee was not something the disciplinary board was examining.

Asked whether criminal charges might be brought against the medic in question, Demetriou said that was not something that fell within the doctors’ remit.

“That is a matter for the police and Legal Services to decide,” he said.

Nevertheless, whatever the outcome of the Medical Association investigation, it was not its responsibility to file a complaint with police, he said.

The incident came to light after a drug addict’s mother said doctors were in the habit of writing prescriptions in exchange for money for medication that had the same effect as a heroin high. Taken in large quantities the drugs were lethal, she said. The distraught mother said she knew of a user who had died in exactly this way about six months ago.

The phenomenon is not something the Medical Association has had no prior experience with.

Demetriou said the association’s disciplinary board had investigated a similar case about 18 months ago. He said the doctor in question had been reprimanded and the issue had closed.

“The matter was investigated and a number of observations and criticisms were made. The doctor stopped writing the prescriptions and that has been the end of it,” he said.