Fund opens to increase access to drug rehabilitation services
AGOVERNMENT fund for d r ug rehabi l i t a t ion services has opened for organisations to apply. The Residential Rehabilitation Rapid Capacity Programme ( RRRCP) fund is part of the additional £ 100m announced as part of the Scottish Government’s National Mission to improve access to residential rehabilitation, trebling the number of publicly funded places by 2026.
Applications for this latest round of funding will close on January 9 and the Scottish Government said priority will be given to projects increasing services in areas where residential rehabilitation provision is lower so people can access treatment regardless of where they live.
Angela Constance, drugs policy minister, said: “I have always said I want every penny of the additional funds announced as part of the National Mission to make a difference and this fund is already having a positive impact on the lives of people with problem drug use.
“While there is much to be done to address our drug deaths crisis these projects show we are making changes to support people to access the treatment and recovery that is right for them.”
The government said applicants are able to apply for up to £ 2m towards the cost of their project and each application will be considered on merit.
The Scottish Government has committed to increasing the number of publicly funded residential rehabilitation placements by 300% and the number of beds by 50% by 2026.
The Glasgow Times asked how many placements and how many beds would be needed to meet the targets.
The Scottish Government said that in 2026 it wants at least 1000 people publicly funded for their placement.
It stated: “This will be achieved through an increase in placements in existing residential rehabilitation services as well as any new services funded through the RRRCP.
“In quarter one of 2022- 23, through existing residential provision, 170 placements were publicly funded – this is the highest quarter on record. Since April 2021, a total of 710 publicly funded placements have been approved.”
On rehab beds, it stated: “In 2021, 425 residential rehabilitation beds were recorded in Scotland.
“Our investment in four RRRCP projects already under way will provide a combined total increase of 85 beds by 2025/ 26, boosting the current rehab capacity in Scotland from 425 to 510 beds, which is an increase of 20%. “This new round of RRRCP will further support our target of 650 beds by 2025/ 26.”
Faces & Voices of Recovery ( Favor) charity recently accused the Scottish Government of sending people to “pretend” rehab centres which it said were actually stabilisation facilities.