Injection bays in the ‘using space’ at the UK’s first safer drugs consumption room (Picture: Jane Barlow/PA Wire)
The UK’s first safer drugs consumption room will open in Scotland in an effort to tackle the country’s major drugs problem.
The Thistle Centre, in Glasgow’s east end, will allow addicts to take drugs – including heroin – under supervision in a clean and hygienic environment, with help on hand if they suffer an overdose.
It’s hoped the NHS centre – set to open on Monday – will also help cut the risk of viruses such as HIV and offer users the opportunity to access other support services.
The room features a ‘using space’, basically a row of injecting booths that look a little like the cubicles seen at Covid testing centres.
On each table there are sterilised needles, a bucket to discard them in and an AccuVein vein finding device.
There’s also a kitchen and lounge area with a TV, plus a health room where individuals can be seen privately by health professionals.
The initiative will receive £2 million a year in funding from the Scottish Government.
Scotland’s First Minister and SNP leader John Swinney, who took a tour around the centre, described it as a ‘significant step forward’ in dealing with the country’s drug issues.
Inside one of the cubicles (Picture: Jane Barlow/PA Wire)
A member of staff demonstrates an AccuVein vein finding device (Picture: Jane Barlow/PA Wire)
Scotland has the worst rate of drug deaths in Europe, with the latest figures showing 1,172 people died from drug misuse in 2023 – 12% higher than 2022.
Mr Swinney, who was joined by Scottish Health Secretary Neil Gray, said while the centre will not be a ‘silver bullet’ it will complement other action being taken to tackle the problem.
He 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.’
He said ‘encouraging progress’ had been made since the Scottish government launched a national mission to reduce drug deaths’.
He added: ‘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.’
The lounge and kitchen areas at the centre (Picture: Jane Barlow/PA Wire)
A health room (Picture: Jane Barlow/PA Wire)
The front of The Thistle Centre(Credits: Jane Barlow/PA Wire)
The centre has been designed with the help of people who have been addicts, while some of the staff joining the workforce ‘know what it’s like to see people injecting drugs in unsafe conditions,’ Mr Swinney added.
Mr Gray, meanwhile, said: ‘Worldwide evidence demonstrates that drug consumption facilities can help save and improve lives.’
Dr Neil McKeganey, director of the Centre for Substance Use Research Scotland, isn’t convinced.
Speaking yesterday, he said the funding would be better invested in getting addicts off drugs, the MailOnline reports.
He said: ‘What we should be doing, and what the Scottish Government has persistently refused to do, is to provide long-term support services focused on recovery, rehabilitation and drug prevention.
‘Addicts need to be helped to move away from drugs they have become addicted to, not provided with easier access to those drugs.’
He believes setting up drug consumption centres will lead to a rise in the number of overdose deaths, adding: ‘And none of those who have allocated scarce public funding [to these initiatives] will be remotely accountable for the decisions they have taken’.
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