Coming soon to town or city near you, free heroin for addicts
A CONTROVERSIAL scheme giving addicts free heroin is to be extended throughout the country.
The initiative – in which the NHS hands out pharmaceutical-grade drugs – will be rolled out ‘as a matter of urgency’, the Scottish Government has announced.
The heroin-assisted treatment (HAT) programme was trialled in Glasgow.
It is a radical response to Scotland’s drug death record. A record 1,264 people died due to drugs in 2019, figures published at the end of last year showed.
Now £250 million has been pledged to tackle the ‘public health emergency’ – including HAT expansion.
Councils are monitoring the HAT scheme, and it is being considered in Edinburgh and Paisley, Renfrewshire. Aberdeen is awaiting a report on last year’s Glasgow pilot.
Before the election campaign began, the Government said it was ‘working to identify areas that could benefit from HAT facilities’.
Of the 2019 drugs deaths, 645 – or 51 per cent – were directly attributed to heroin, and 1,092 (86 per cent) involved all forms of opiates.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon called the statistic ‘indefensible’ and Public Health Minister Joe Fitzpatrick quit amid a backlash.
In the Glasgow HAT trial, addicts inject their NHS heroin in a clinic under doctors’ supervision. Such centres are well established in Germany and Switzerland. The pilot has been hailed a success by health bosses and SNP Ministers.
Edinburgh Health and Social Care Partnership (HSCP) has said it will consider the HAT scheme.
A spokesman for the Renfrewshire HSCP said of HAT: ‘Consideration will be given to this provision, based upon the outcome of the service evaluation in Glasgow.’
Aberdeen HSCP said it is waiting for the publication of the findings of the Glasgow scheme, which was set up in December 2019.
Doctors can prescribe patients two doses of heroin a day and they are supervised as they inject the drug using clean equipment.
Critics believe the scheme does nothing to prevent drug trafficking nor promote an anti-drugs message, and argue that NHS cash should not be spent on heroin for addicts.
Supporters say HAT reduces overdoses and addicts are less likely to resort to crime to fund their habit.
Glasgow HSCP said there are plans to expand the service, which is ‘having a largely positive impact with increased engagement’.
Before the election campaign began, a Government spokesman said: ‘A national mission is needed to address this health emergency. This will be backed by £50 million a year for the next five years.’