Updated 25th January 2012
The British Doctors’ and Dentists’ Group, formed in 1975, is a mutual support society for doctors and dentists who are recovering, or wish to recover, from addiction to or dependency on alcohol or other drugs.
Membership is restricted to qualified medical and dental practitioners, and medical and dental students at the discretion of local secretaries, and normal medical ethics regarding confidentiality apply strictly within the group.
There are over 1,000 members in the UK and local groups are located in:-
Aberdeen (Scotland), Altrincham (Greater Manchester), Belfast (Northern Ireland),
Birmingham (West Midlands), Bristol (West of England),
Chelmsford (Essex) www.bddgchelmsford.com
Chester- le-Street (County Durham), Dublin (Eire), Edinburgh (Scotland),
Glasgow (Scotland), London (largest meeting), www.bddg-london.org
London (largest Families Group), Petersfield (Hampshire),
Plymouth (Devon), Pulborough (West Sussex),
Sheffield (South Yorkshire), Swansea (Wales), and Winchester (Hampshire).
Several groups have associated family meetings.
Most have monthly meetings, and further information and advice can be obtained by contacting the BDDG National Secretary, John,
at jpsecbddg@gmx.co.uk or on 0779 2819 966
or the BDDG Registrar, Peter, at bddgregistrar@gmail.com or on 07982 594 779
or through the Medical Council on Alcohol on 020 7487 4445
A convention is held every October where in addition to our members we have many visitors from overseas (particularly the U.S.A.) as well as our family members. Our 2011 convention was in Bristol.
Our 37th Annual Convention will be from 3rd to 7th October 2012 - further details will be available in due course.
BDDG is affiliated to International Doctors in Alcoholics Anonymous. Their Annual Meeting for 2012 is in Orlando, Florida from August 1st to 5th. Further details at www.idaa.org
The BDDG also has family groups to support the loved ones of the sick doctor or dentist and they can be contacted via the BDDG Families website.
The Sick Doctors Trust can help with completely confidential telephone contact and can also advise regarding the organisation of rehabilitation and treatment. They can be contacted 24/7 on 0370 444 5163
ALL calls are treated with absolute confidentiality and no information or details will ever be passed to any third party unless at the request of the caller.
The Dentists’ Health Support Programme may be contacted on
020 722 446 71
Clicking on the 'Information' tab above will bring up a list of documents and links, which you may find interesting or useful.
Feedback as to the value of the document list, or suggestions for additions, deletions or amendments will be welcomed by Roger Anderson at bddg@chagford.waitrose.com
If you think you have a problem with alcohol or drugs, we know that you will be feeling very alone. We know how you feel because we have been there. We also know the immense feeling of fellowship and sympathetic support we get when we can confidentially share our problems with others who have worked through those same problems, and have the same professional background as ourselves. At these meetings the burdens of addiction and dependency can be shared with experienced, sympathetic colleagues, and recovery can begin.
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