FUNDING CRISIS FORCES

Anniesland, whose funded places were recently cut, said: “We speak to so many people who are determined to get into rehab but are told they have to face panels of doctors and psychiatrists. It’s like Dragons’ Den trying to get accepted and there are so many other blockages in the system. “There is an underlying tendency for many professionals to steer people towards methadone, even when the person believes that is the last thing they need.

Kennedy said one recent client’s place was funded after her mother obtained a credit union loan.

He said: “This wasn’t a well-off family, it was another example of a family pulling together to get out of a crisis.”

He added: “Local care managers are experts in their field and if they see an obvious benefit for an individual in rehab they should be able to authorise an immediate place for their client and funding should be there to cover that.”

Much of the Government funding that remains in Scotland is limited to 12 weeks, which is regarded as too little by most providers. Some have argued against rehab as it often takes multiple spells of abstinence therapy for some to make real progress with their lives.

Kennedy added: “If it’s cash that drives the poor provision, the Scottish Government should consider that it costs £536 for a client to stay with us, which compares to £1000 to keep them in a homeless unit or £1300 to hold them in a jail. It’s a no-brainer.”

Abbeycare Scotland deputy manager Douglas McFarlane said it was hard to understand how rehab beds had been cut as the deaths surged to 1187, the worst in the world.

He said: “We have had so many people come through our doors who have gone on to have better lives and there should be proper recognition of this, backed by public funding.

“No-one should be saddled with years of debt when they are trying to overcome issues that threaten their lives.”

Monica Lennon, Scottish Labour’s health spokeswoman, said: “Rehab saves lives and it’s shocked me that vulnerable addicts are forced to beg and borrow money to get into a detox bed that could turn their life around.

“Something has gone terribly wrong that GPs are no longer able to refer people battling drug or alcohol problems to NHS-funded rehab treatment places.

“It’s glaringly obvious that the Public Health Minister should be allocating funding to fill empty rehab beds.”

A Scottish Government spokesman said: “We want to ensure everyone who requires drug and alcohol rehabilitation treatment has access to it. For 2020-21, the Scottish Government funding for reducing the harms from drug and alcohol use will be £95million.

“We have invested £20million of new funding within the current Scottish Budget to ensure the Drug Deaths Taskforce and Alcohol and Drug Partnerships can respond to the needs of those who are most at risk.”

In Glasgow, funding for 52 long-term residential rehab beds was cut to 14, with further cuts on the duration of each stay.