By Lucy Ashton
Dame Jackie Baillie has blasted the SNP’s “shameful and deadly” failure to tackle high levels of opioid abuse in West Dunbartonshire communities.
It comes as a new report reveals high levels of opioid dependence within the NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde area.
The Public Health Scotland dossier on the Prevalence of Opioid Dependence in Scotland shows the SNP made no progress in tackling the issue between 2014/15 and 2019/20.
The damning document shows that as of 2019/20, a staggering 47,100 Scots had an opioid addiction.
It also reveals that Scotland’s rate of opioid dependence at 1.32 per cent, is significantly higher than England’s 0.8 per cent.
Figures for NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde show an estimated prevalence of opioid dependence of 1.77 per cent, or 14,100 people, in 2019/20.
Data indicates a fall of less than 1.99 per cent from 2014/15, showing little progress in the battle against opioid addiction.
Figures also reveal that throughout Scotland, the most addicted group were men aged between 35 and 49 – an estimated 5.62 per cent of this sector, some 6,200 – were opioid-dependent in 2019/20.
In NHS Lothian, 1.25 per cent of the population had an opioid addiction in 2019/20, compared with 1.36 per cent in Tayside.
Public Health Scotland has found that synthetic opioids, called Nitazenes, have been detected in 25 deaths in Scotland between 2022 and October 2023. These drugs are stronger than natural opioids and pose an increased risk of overdose or death.
Scottish Labour’s Health spokesperson, MSP Jackie Baillie, said: “This report lays bare the SNP’s failure to tackle Scotland’s drug crisis and get people the help they need.
“For years the SNP has stood by while this public health emergency destroyed lives – their inaction was shameful and deadly.
“Far too many people are still dying needlessly from drugs and this report shows how many thousands more are struggling with addiction.”
She added: “The SNP must act with the urgency needed to save lives and help people recover – properly funding drug and alcohol services, delivering the new treatment standards, providing additional rehabilitation beds, opening drug checking services, and making rapid progress on the safer consumption room pilot in Glasgow.”
BACKGROUND NOTES:
Estimated Prevalence of Opioid Dependence in Scotland, 2014/15 to 2019/20:
- In 2019/20 the estimated number of people with opioid dependence in Scotland was 47,100 […] This represents an estimated prevalence of 1.32% of 15- to 64- year-olds.
- These estimates suggest that prevalence of opioid dependence is high in Scotland
- In England, estimates based on capture-recapture methodology suggest there were 294,000 opioid users in 2019/20, a prevalence of 0.8%
https://publichealthscotland.scot/media/26062/2024-03-19-opioid-prevalence-report.pdf
A public health alert about nitazenes-type opioids was published in January 2023. This alert was further updated in December 2023 to include provisional data on detections of nitazenes-type opioids in deaths in Scotland. Based on post-mortem toxicology testing, nitazenes were detected in 25 deaths (to 30 September 2023).
When I try to talk about drug deaths in the area, I am always shouted down. Why is that ?