for a lost life STRUCK off the medical register for three months after the death from an overdose of a teenager for whom he prescribed the heroin substitute, methadone, over the phone, Blackburn GP Dr Francis Kwasi Apaloo can consider himself fortunate to receive such a paltry penalty.

For it can hardly be said to reflect the catalogue of irresponsibility in the failings that led to the death of 16-year-old Jamie Edmondson.

This entailed not just his issuing prescriptions over the telephone on a Friday night to a medically-unqualified social worker at the young offenders' home where the boy was living. For, as was heard by the General Medical Council which struck him off, Dr Apaloo failed to obtain a medical history direct from the patient himself, did not examine him and did not obtain verification of the information provided by the social worker -- though both she and Jamie were only a short walk away from his surgery.

But if his being prevented from practising for just three months is the GMC's disciplinary measure for such literally-lethal lapses, also of concern are the evident shortcomings in the system for dealing with suspected drug addicts in our locality.

For evidence given to Council's Conduct Committee highlighted a disturbing shortage of resources available to GPs dealing with addicts and also revealed a lack of knowledge about the levels of methadone being prescribed. As the hearing was told, it was highly improbable that Dr Apaloo would have been able to contact anyone from the Blackburn Community Drugs Action Team at that time on a Friday night, while the information in Department of Health literature was "inadequate."

However lamely Dr Apaloo's failings may have been dealt with, it is vital that the failings in the system that also contributed to Jamie's needless death are now dealt with urgently by the authorities responsible -- with a full review of the resources and training required by medical staff -- so that such a tragedy cannot happen again.