Scotland is failing to turn around our shameful drug deaths crisis, according to latest figures
Suspected drug deaths in the first three months of 2023 were five per cent up on the same period last year, figures suggest. Drawn from Police Scotland management data, the numbers follow equally depressing news for the previous three months, when 295 died.
Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton said Scotland is caught in an ongoing ‘public health disaster’. He said: “These figures are stories of lives cut short and potential extinguished. They are stories of opportunities lost, families and friends grieving. She added: “Despite these deeply concerning figures, we are continuing to see precious little action from SNP ministers to get on top of this national emergency. Frontline services are still at breaking point.”
In the 12 months to March 2023, suspected drug deaths fell by seven per cent to 1,105. There were 1,092 suspected drug deaths in 2022 - 16 per cent fewer than the ‘suspected’ total for 2021. But 295 of these deaths occurred from October to December 2022 - the highest in a single quarter since April to June 2021.
“Through our £250 million national mission on drugs, we have continued to expand residential rehabilitation, supported 300 grassroots projects, and continued to drive implementation of the medication assisted treatment standards which support the consistent delivery of safe, accessible, high-quality, drug treatment across Scotland.
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