Source: Sunday Times (UK) Contact: http://www.sunday-times.co.uk/ Copyright: 1998 Times Newspapers Ltd. Pubdate: Sun, 18 Oct 1998 Author: Chris Dignan 10% OF DOCTORS ARE ADDICTED TO DRINK OR DRUGS DRUG and alcohol abuse among doctors has risen to such a level that one in 10 could be suffering from an addiction, a study has shown. Up to 200,000 patients a day may be receiving treatment from doctors who are under the influence of drink or narcotics. The study has reinforced calls for the British Medical Association (BMA), which represents doctors, to introduce random testing. Medical teams would call at hospitals and surgeries without warning, to take blood and urine samples. Earlier this year the BMA published its own survey, which suggested that about one in 15 practising doctors was dependent on drink or drugs. Figures collected by the Sick Doctors Trust now indicate that this could be a significant underestimate. It found 300 doctors a year are becoming addicts. "We have also seen a 30% increase this year in the number of people we are referring for treatment," said Dr Ian Joiner, executive director of the trust's helpline. The new study, by Dr Patrick Dixon, coincides with a second analysis of the BMA's figures which suggests that inherent flaws hid the full scale of the problem. The re-analysis also indicates that one in 10 doctors have addictions. Dixon's research is published in his book The Truth About Drugs, which is aimed at health professionals. "A patient undergoing surgery stands a 50% chance of having an addicted doctor on the team treating him," he says. "Every hospital and almost every large GP practice is affected. Random breathalysing and drug-testing of doctors at work are the only ways to tackle the problem." The problem reflects the ease with which doctors can obtain drugs, combined with stress caused by long working hours and the need to make instant decisions which can mean life or death for patients. Dr Clive Froggatt, 50, from Cheltenham, was a heroin addict while he treated patients at his surgery and children at a local hospital. He wrote himself drug prescriptions for four years. "I was taking it during the working day because that's what addiction is all about. You don't have any choice," he said. A pharmacist reported Froggatt, who was given a one-year suspended jail sentence for prescription fraud in 1994. The former health adviser to the Tory government remains suspended by the General Medical Council. He says lack of help for doctors discouraged him and others from seeking treatment. - --- Checked-by: Joel W. Johnson