City addicts facing longer wait for help

Figures from ISD Scotland revealed the number of Dundonians referred for treatment within the three-week target has fallen from 98.1% in July-September 2015 to just 82.2% in the same period this year. Across Scotland, that figure is 93.9%.

In addition, the time taken for 90% of referred people to start treatment has doubled from 17 days this time last year to 35 days in 2016 — well above the Scotland average of 20 days.

Around 50 people waited as long as six weeks before their first treatment.

The figures revealed that Dundee is the worst-performing Alcohol and Drugs Partnership (ADP) in Tayside. In Angus 98.7% of people in need of treatment were seen within three weeks, increasing to 99.1% in Perth and Kinross.

Labour councillor Kevin Keenan said it was “very disappointing” that Dundee had fallen behind other parts of the country.

He said: “Drugs are a real scourge on society — I am sure that for those families who see the lives of their loved ones falling apart, getting treatment must be a real priority.

“The Dundee Drugs and Alcohol Partnership needs to do more to address the diminishing statistics.

“If an individual has asked for treatment and they have to wait a lengthy period of time it may well be that they won’t present themselves again, which may see them getting deeper and deeper into drugs and ultimately to potential loss of life.”

Dave Barrie, service manager at addiction support service Addaction Dundee, said it was important that people needing help were seen quickly.

He said: “If there has been a drop in people getting access to treatment in time that is obviously a concern.

“There is strong evidence that by being in treatment people are at less risk of problems related to drugs, like overdoses, blood-bound virus transmission and criminal behaviour.”

An NHS Tayside spokeswoman said: “Due to a short period of unplanned staff absence, the service saw a slight drop in performance in comparison with the months prior to July 2016. This has now been resolved and waiting times from September onwards have improved.”

ADDICTS seeking help with drug and alcohol problems in Dundee are having to wait longer for treatment than most others in Scotland.

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Kevin Keenan