📷 Health Europa
A new medical cannabis clinic has opened in Solihull. Patients have been treated at The Medical Cannabis Clinics based in Dickens Heath.
Medicinal cannabis was legalised in November 2018 but the treatments can be prescribed only by specialist doctors in a limited number of circumstances where other medicines have failed.
The launch comes following the release of a YouGov poll detailing how 1.4 million British citizens are resorting to using cannabis illegally in an attempt to treat conditions and symptoms including multiple sclerosis and arthritis.
Patients at the clinic can expect to pay £250 for an initial consultation with follow up appointments costing £150.
These take place three weeks later and then once per month for three months after receiving the medication.
The clinic states that if treatment is going well, follow-up appointments can be arranged via telephone consultation at £50.
Elie Okirie is a Neurorehabilitation Consultant at Solihull Health Check Clinic.
He said: "In my practice, I see patients who are very disabled, who may have tried different treatments from acute specialists over many years. They are trying to live a normal life and make sense of everyday living with their condition, yet they are living with chronic pain.
"They don’t sleep well at night, they have spasms and spasticity, and they suffer all the complications that come with their condition. They are hugely impacted by the opioid medication they are being prescribed, but still, their symptoms are not being alleviated.
"Exploring the benefits of medical cannabis is the right thing to do. From my perspective, I see the evidence in respect of cannabis as a treatment, and how the endocannabinoid system responds to it. It’s one more thing in the armoury of treatment options we can try for patients suffering intractable, long-term disabilities and disabling conditions. ”
Jonathan Nadler, Group MD at LYPHE Group said: ‘The Medical Cannabis Clinics are delighted to be opening a branch in Solihull as we recognise the urgent need for effective therapeutic treatment options for patients suffering from chronic conditions throughout Birmingham.
Source: Birmingham Mail