Police commissioners urge Home Office to drop opposition to addicts’ ‘fix rooms’

● Proposals for Glasgow facility ‘could cut deaths and save money’

There are renewed calls for the UK government to allow the opening of a drug consumption room in Glasgow after three police and crime commissioners backed the idea as a way of saving lives.

The elected commissioners for Durham, North Wales and West Midlands said they were “deeply concerned” about the Home Office’s opposition to the use of drug consumption rooms (DCRS), which are sometimes referred to as “fix rooms”.

Earlier this year the UK government rejected a proposal by Glasgow City Council to open a ‘‘fix room”.

The plan came among amid growing concern over the number of HIV infections related to intravenous drug use.

In a joint letter to Home Office minister Victoria Atkins, which has been seen by The Scotsman, Arfon Jones (commissioner for North Wales), David Jamieson (West Midlands) and Ron Hogg (Durham) warn drug deaths across the UK are at an all-time high, with the added risk that the painkiller fentanyl could be introduced into the heroin market.

“DCRS have been shown to reduce syringe sharing and litter which in turn reduces the risk of blood-borne virus infections, and they can reduce overdose fatalities and ambulance call-outs for overdose, thereby reducing pressure on our emergency services,” they said.

“Evidence also suggests that DCRS save more money than

0 A heroin user prepares to shoot up under supervision at a drug room in Athens – several countries have introduced the facilities