EVERY eight hours in Scotland one of our fellow citizens dies from entirely preventable drug-related death. Last year, the figure was 1051 dead, a …
one of our fellow citizens dies from entirely preventable drug-related death. Last year, the figure was 1051 dead, a decrease on the previous year of 1330.
Because every life lost to this epidemic is a tragedy, every life lost is a waste and every life lost leaves behind heartbreak and agony for friends and family, many of whom run the risk of suffering the same fate due to a vicious cycle of poverty, trauma, poor mentalThe Scottish Government infamously admitted that it ‘took its eye off the ball’ when it came to drug-related deaths.
And we should be in no doubt that this is a socio-economic issue. The latest figures show that those in Scotland’s most deprived communities are sixteen times more likely to die from drug misuse than those in the least deprived communities, while working-class cities like Glasgow and Dundee have drug death rates roughly double that of our more affluent capital city, Edinburgh.
Similarly, those ready to engage with addiction and recovery services must be provided with the means to do so as and when they are ready. We know that this is not the case at present with MAT Standard targets being missed across the country, particularly in areas of highly concentrated drug misuse. My proposed Drug Death Prevention Bill would introduce overdose prevention centres in Scotland; a lifesaving intervention that not only prevents overdoses but also provides a pathway to engagement with official services that will hopefully lead to recovery, for those able to.
My fear is that they won’t and will continue to proceed at a snail’s pace towards targets and policy interventions that should have been met and implemented years ago. There is no clearer example of that glacial progress than overdose prevention centres.
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