LAST YEAR WAS THE DEADLIEST ON RECORD IN REGION

THE North East had worst rate of drugrelated deaths in England last year, according to new figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

In response, drug and alcohol charities working with people in the North East have urged “stable and sustained” Government investment in tackling the problem - and warned the issue must be treated as a health problem rather than a criminal one.

According to the figures, in a year that was the “deadliest on record”, our area was yet again hardest hit.

The statisticians worked out the rate of deaths per million people.

Over 2021, there were 163.4 deaths per million due to drug poisoning and 104.1 per million due to drug misuse for every million people.

London had just 47.6 deaths per million due to drug poisoning, with the east of England seeing just 27.4 deaths per million for drug misuse.

Overall, there were 4,859 deaths related to drug poisoning registered in 2021 - that’s a rate of 84.4 deaths per million and the ninth year in a row to see a rise.

It’s up 6.2% on 2020 - and the highest figure since records began. The ONS said the overall rising trend over the past decade has been driven primarily by deaths involving opiates, but also those involving other substances such as cocaine.

In the last year there have been “significant” rises from 2020 in deaths involving cocaine, methadone and new psychoactive substances. The ONS said possible explanations for the rise could be that there is an ageing cohort of drug-users experiencing the effects of long-term use and becoming more susceptible to a fatal overdose.in the North East, last year there were actually three fewer drug misuse deaths (255) than a year earlier. However there were also 402 drug poisoning deaths - 13 more than in 2020. County Durham charity Humankind - which was founded locally and works running services such as the County Durham Substance Misuse Service has called for there to be a “joined-up approach” to what it sees as a public health issue.

In a statement, the charity said: “Sadly, it will take many years for the number of deaths to change significantly but we believe that it can be done if drug deaths are treated as a health crisis rather than a criminal matter.

“For too long, treatment and support for people who use drugs has been side-lined and there needs to be a joined-up national approach to public health planning that ensures people can receive the care they need from all healthcare providers.”

The charity said the Government’s £780m drug strategy announced in December was a “significant step forward” and that funding from this had already made a difference.

However, it added: “But it is vital that there continues to be stable and sustained investment into treatment ser

It is vital that there continues to be stable and sustained investment into treatment services Humankind charity