A flawed account

Time-limited methadone treatment as advocated by Neil McKeganey (Letters, 8 April) has been tried several times and has always shown poor outcomes, even with substantial additional psychosocial treatments.

However, Prof McKeganey seems to dismiss research not done in the UK as irrelevant to the British population.

He and others have also taken to saying that doctors support methadone prescribing largely because we earn so much from it. As a general practitioner with one of the largest numbers of patients on methadone in Scotland as well as the RCCGP Scotland Clinical Lead Substance Misuse, earnings from this make up less than 10 per cent of my total earnings, and I could easily find alternative work.

In contrast, I believe Professor Neil McKeganey earns money from his writings on substance misuse and owes all his career to it.

Similarly, providers of rehabilitation programmes also earn very substantial sums solely from their involvement in substance misuse.

DR RICHARD WATSON

General Practitioner and Royal College of General Practitioners Scotland Clinical, Lead Substance Misuse

Craigallian Medical Centre

Glasgow