The UK’s first official drug consumption room will open on 21 October, according to the BBC. This week’s announcement of the latest Scottish drug death figures – showing an increase of 121 on the previous year – made it clear that ‘we are in a public health emergency and one that requires radical action’, Glasgow City Council’s Allan Casey told the broadcaster.
The new facility, located on Hunter Street in Glasgow’s east end, will include injecting booths and medical rooms and operate from 9am to 9pm, seven days a week. Up to 30 service users will be able to access it at any time.
Earlier this month Glasgow City Health and Social Care Partnership (HSCP) announced that feedback from engagement sessions with people with lived experience had led to some late changes to the layout of the service, including the addition of a shower room, clothing store and secure outside area. ‘We also consulted with lived and living experience groups on a name for the new service,’ HSCP added – the facility will be known as ‘The Thistle’.
‘Following a successful recruitment process – with the support of lived experience reference group members within our interview panels – we’re now creating a fully comprehensive training and induction plan for all staff members,’ said the facility’s operational manager Dan Daly. ‘We look forward to working closely with all services, promoting collaboration and inclusivity for all.’
Scotland’s latest drug death figures showed a 12 per cent increase on the previous year, with 1,172 drug misuse deaths registered in 2023. Opiates and opioids – including methadone – were implicated in 80 per cent of the deaths, benzodiazepines in 58 per cent, cocaine in 41 per cent and gabapentin and/or pregabalin in 38 per cent. People in the most deprived areas of Scotland are more than 15 times as likely to die from drug misuse compared to people in the least deprived, the report stated.