“Painaustralia has today issued a media release calling on the government to undertake a reset of the 2020 opioid reforms.
Painaustralia’s plea to the Federal Government is supported by Professor Paul Glare, one of Australia’s leading pain management researchers and clinicians and a director of the Pain Foundation.
‘People who have been on long-term opioids often for decades need special consideration,’ he said. ‘The experience overseas is that there have been real harms resulting from the unintended consequences of heavy-handed implementation of these kinds of policies.
I have been seeing them – patients buying heroin when their pain medications have been suddenly cut off by the authorities and unnecessary hospital admissions – in my clinical practice.’
In July, overwhelmed by appeals from those living in chronic pain, Painaustralia wrote to the Minister for Health appealing for an urgent, independent review of how the opioid restrictions were rolled out, sighting many consumers were distressed at forced tapering or sudden withdrawal.
‘In short, large numbers of Australians who have a legitimate need for opioids have been left in pain, forced off the medication they needed and with no alternative offered by GPs,’ Ms Jones said.”
Author: Kevin R James
Chronic Pan Patient Advocate and Writer. Medically Retired RN [B.Nurs.]