Visiting Professor Jan Melichar spoke at the UK Drugs Summit in October where Government ministers and experts from across the home nations came together to discuss new ways to tackle illegal drug use across the UK

It has been a busy month for our Visiting Professor Jan Melichar who is a Consultant Psychiatrist in Substance Misuse based in Cardiff. He’s been helping to promote the use of Buvidal across Wales and the rest of the UK. 

Buvidal is an important harm reduction initiative that is growing in popularity. It is a form of opioid substitution therapy (OST) that offers people who are dependent on opioids (such as heroin) an alternative, prescribed medicine. 

Buvidal’s long-acting, injectable formulation means that it can be administered to patients monthly rather than daily, which other forms of OST (such as methadone) require. By all accounts, Buvidal is a ‘game-changer’ that is helping people to turn their lives around and achieve unexpectedly positive outcomes.

“We have been astounded to find it has allowed many of our patients to move into recovery (no illicit drug use, returning to work, re-engaging with their families, paying taxes, getting on with their lives etc) in a manner many were unable to achieve to date," said Jan, a Visiting Professor in the Substance Use Research Group.

Feedback from Buvidal patients has been overwhelmingly positive.  The following quotation is a classic example:

"Changed my life...I go straight to work...can get up at 6.30 to be at work for 7.30...before got up at 4.30 every day to search for heroin....not smoked any since (first dose)...I'm back to the gym...wish I'd had it earlier as it would've saved my marriage..."

There are now over 1,200 patients receiving this game-changing drug in Wales and Jan has been sharing the good news about it with politicians here and abroad.

Jan was invited to attend the second UK Drugs Summit held Monday 11 October in Belfast to discuss the benefits of Buvidal with a group of senior politicians and stakeholders including: Kit Malthouse MP (Minister of State in the Home Office and Ministry of Justice), Lynne Neagle MS (Deputy Minister for Mental Health and Wellbeing, Welsh Government), and Dame Carol Black (author of the Independent Review of Drugs commissioned by the Home Office and DHSC).

Held in Belfast, the UK Drugs Summit focused on strong collaboration across the nations as crucial for finding solutions to all aspects of drug misuse.

Jan said: “I was grateful to have opportunity to talk about the amazing changes we've seen in Wales for those at the bottom of the heap. I had Kit Malthouse (the Cabinet minister responsible), three  devolved government ministers, two heads of UK government departments, two academics and me round the table. They wanted to hear what I had to say about how this could be a game-changer for many patients.”

Jan is hopeful that these discussions will prove fruitful and lead to more funding and greater use of Buvidal within the Criminal Justice System and more widely in the treatment of opioid dependency.