Bradford's patient watchdog is organising a series of 'hearings' to gather evidence about the needs of drug and alcohol abusers.

Bradford Community Health Council (CHC) has invited addicts to appear before health chiefs to tell them about their experiences.

And members hope the meetings in Buttershaw, Bowling and Manningham will help to address current 'failures' in service provision.

CHC member Karl Dallas said the idea was for decision-making bodies to go out into the community and listen to personal accounts.

He said: "I think it's going to blow the whistle on some of the shortcomings in services in this area.

"We have got very frustrated as a group and are either getting unsatisfactory answers or no answers."

Representatives from Bradford Health Authority, the Drug and Alcohol Action Team (DAAT) and local service providers will be invited, he said.

Last week the CHC hit out at new arrangements for doctors to provide Drugs treatment, claiming that GPs could not cope.

Bradford's Local Medical Committee had also written saying that the majority of GPs were unwilling to accept responsibility for the treatment of drug dependency.

A spokesman for Bradford Health Authority today said they were aware of significant difficulties in drug services, but that they were working hard with Bradford DAAT and Primary Care Trusts to find solutions.

She said: "National policy from the UK Anti-Drugs Co-ordinating Unit is clear that drug misuse services are particularly effective when they are provided through family doctors, who have local knowledge of the situation and services in their areas."

She added that a training officer had been appointed and extra funding was announced just before Christmas, both of which would provide a real opportunity to improve services in Bradford.