FSKN director demands unimpeded provision of strong pain-relievers to people who need them
MOSCOW. Feb 13 (Interfax) - Russian Federal Drug Control Service (FSKN) Viktor Ivanov has demanded that the heads of he regional anti-narcotics commissions remove bureaucratic barriers that are now preventing people who need strong pain-relievers from getting them.
"Despite the decision made on a federal level, the relevant agencies in the regions have still not reformed the system to make various pain-relievers more accessible," the Federal Drug Control Service press service told Interfax on Thursday.
"The Federal Drug Control Service is consistently working on the humanization of the provision of narcotic and psychotropic substances to patients who need relevant treatment, especially in the provision of palliative assistance and assistance to cancer patients," the Federal Drug Control Service said.
Due to the recent suicide committed by Rear-Admiral Vyacheslav Apanasenko, Ivanov ordered the heads of the regional anti-narcotics commissions to immediately enforce the regulations aimed at simplifying the procedures governing the provision of strong pain-relievers to patients adopted by the Russian government and the Health Ministry last year, the Federal Drug Control Service said.
The Federal Drug Control Service said the Health Ministry is guided by regional regulations, which have not been brought into compliance with the federal legislation yet.
"The Russian Federal Drug Control Service has never supported a ban on the use of narcotics and psychotropic medications or toughening the procedures governing it. The Russian state anti-narcotics policies for the period until 2020 do not pursue such goals," the Federal Drug Control Service said.
Under the Russian legislation on state control and licensing of specific types of activities, the Federal Drug Control Service does not conduct routine or extraordinary inspections of legal entities involved in the turnover of narcotics and psychotropic substances, the Federal Drug Control Service said.
"Under the legislation, such inspections are an area of responsibility of the licensing bodies such as Roszdravnadzor and the relevant executive administration bodies in the Russian regions," the Federal Drug Control Service said.
The debate on the issue of provision of pain-relievers to terminally ill people intensified in Russia after Rear-Admiral Vyacheslav Apanasenko, who had cancer, committed suicide to protest the red tape in the provision of pain-relievers to cancer patients.
