Prescribing Sedatives

Sedatives For Scans / Procedures Performed By Organisations External To Giffords Surgery

If you feel you need sedation in such circumstances, please speak to the team undertaking the procedure or scan, as they are responsible for providing this if needed.

Sedatives are medicines which make patients sleepy and relaxed. There are several reasons why healthcare practitioners at Giffords Surgery do not prescribe these medicines for procedures outside of our practice:

• GPs are not trained to provide the correct level of sedation for a procedure / scan. Providing too little sedation won’t help you, providing too much sedation can make you too sleepy, which could lead to the procedure being cancelled. Too much sedation can dangerously affect your breathing. After taking a sedative for a procedure or scan, you will need to be closely monitored to keep you safe.
• Although diazepam makes most people who take it sleepy, in some rare situations it can have an opposite effect and make people aggressive or agitated. Diazepam can also cause disinhibition, leading you to behave in a way that you would not normally. This can impact on your safety and the safety of others.
• Scans and hospital procedures are often delayed, therefore the team performing he procedure or scan should provide the sedation, to ensure you become sleepy and relaxed at the right time.
• Diazepam stays in your system for quite a while. If your job requires you to submit to random drug testing you may fail this having taken diazepam.

Feel free to show this policy to your hospital team or dentist.