TEN YEARS AGO Friday June 17 2011

Methadone clinic a done deal?

There are fears that plans for a methadone treatment clinic in Campbeltown will go ahead regardless of opposition.

Campbeltown Community Council invited experts and the public to join them at their June meeting on Monday in the town hall for a debate. The town’s GPs have opposed setting up a joint-venture service to prescribe the heroin substitute; one fear is it will attract more drug users into town. Dr Malcolm Lazarus said he was not convinced it was the most appropriate treatment. ‘No-one has a solution to the problem but clinics are a Scottish Government objective. I don’t know if there’s anything we can do to stop this happening whether we want it or not.’

Addicts would receive their daily methadone dose in a chemist’s shop supervised by a pharmacist and be allowed to take away one dose on Saturday for Sunday.

Three GPs and addiction nurses would run a weekly clinic at the hospital, covering as far as Whitehouse. The programme would be part of the alcohol and drug partnership and link up with successful existing ventures such as Kintyre Alcohol and Drugs Advisory Service; NHS; council; KADAS pharmacy and all partners working together. It is difficult to estimate the number of addicts in Kintyre. It is believed to be at least 20 to 30. About a third of those who take part in the treatment are successful.

In 2011: Machrihanish Golf Club’s ladies competed in their annual Ladies’ Charity Open. Playing to raise funds for Bonnie Babies, they raised £230. Ladies’ captain Valerie MacKay thanked everyone who helped over the course of the day. Played in a Stableford format, the competition was won by Mary MacIntyre, third right, and the scratch winner was Lindsay Ramsay, third left. They are pictured with the rest of the main prizewinners.