First Minister says harm reduction approach will help save lives.
Scotland's First Minister has welcomed the opening of the UK's
first safer drugs consumption facility in Glasgow.
The First Minister and Health Secretary received a tour of the Thistle
Centre, ahead of it supporting its first service users on Monday
13 January. The facility will provide a supervised healthcare
setting where people can inject drugs in the presence of trained
health and social care professionals in a clean, hygienic
environment.
The facility is backed by £2 million a year from the Scottish
Government.
The centre aims to reduce the harms associated with injecting
drugs, including the risk of blood-borne viruses such as HIV,
support people to get help to improve their lives and reduce the
negative impact of outdoors injecting on those using substances,
local residents, communities and businesses.
Speaking during the visit, First Minister said:
“The Thistle Centre in Glasgow is the first facility of its kind
in the UK and it is backed by £2 million a year from the Scottish
Government.
“Every death related to drug misuse is one too many, and drug
deaths in Scotland remain far too high.
“There has been lot of encouraging progress since we launched our
National Mission, and while this facility is not a silver bullet,
it is another significant step forward and will complement other
efforts to reduce harms and deaths.
“Scotland's public health and human rights-based approach to
tackling drug misuse means we're focused on ensuring our
healthcare services are not only listening to people but also
drawing on their experiences as we work to support them.
“Families and those with lived experience have been pivotal in
bringing change and helping shape our response to drugs misuse in
Scotland. Of course, my sincere condolences go to anyone in
Scotland who has lost a loved one to drugs.
“Those with lived experience have been involved in the designing
the service and had input on staff recruitment. Indeed, people
with lived experience, who know what it's like to see people
injecting drugs in unsafe conditions, have joined the workforce
at the facility.”
Health Secretary said:
“Worldwide evidence demonstrates that drug consumption facilities
can help save and improve lives.
“The Scottish Government wants every person experiencing harm
from alcohol or drug use to be able access the support they need
and record levels of funding have been protected in next year's
budget. We've maintained £112 million to local Alcohol and Drug
Partnerships for local treatment and support services in 2024-25
– including £28.1 million to Greater Glasgow and Clyde ADP – and
will continue to invest in residential rehabilitation.
“A recent PHS report suggests that, in 2022-23, the Scottish
Government reached its target of 1,000 individuals a year being
publicly funded to go to residential rehabilitation and that the
number of individuals starting a placement which was publicly
funded is likely to have almost doubled between 2019-20 and
2022-23.
“I would like to thank everyone involved in getting this
life-saving service up and running for their hard work.”
Background
Safer Drug Consumption Facility
| Glasgow City Health and Social Care Partnership
In addition to its annual Alcohol and Drug Partnership funding
allocation, the Scottish Government has committed to providing £2
million a year to Glasgow Health and Social Care Partnership for
the pilot phase of the Thistle service. Glasgow HSCP has funded
the work to adapt the building.
Evaluation of the Scottish
Government Residential Rehab Programme
