Holyrood message...
IT’S safe to say that the last few weeks in Scottish politics have been something of a whirlwind. Last time I wrote my column in the Tele, Humza Yousaf was still First Minister. Now, just two weeks later, John Swinney has taken up this important role.
On a personal level, I want to wish the former First Minister the best and, despite our many disagreements, I wish John Swinney the very best in his new role. I know that frontline politics takes its toll on your family life.
One issue which must be the number one priority for the new First Minister is tackling the rising rate of drug deaths that plagues Scotland.
This week I had the opportunity to ask the new First Minister at ‘FMQs’ how much progress the government has made towards its target to increase the number of residential rehab beds to 650 by 2026, as it promised, and as it must do.
The reasons why this is important will be obvious to us here in Inverclyde.
Just last week I had the privilege of visiting The Haven rehabilitation centre in nearby Kilmacolm, an organisation dedicated to oering long term residential support for individuals battling drug addiction, many of whom hail from Greenock and Inverclyde.
My visit was informative and inspiring, but it was tough. I felt privileged to gain a first-hand look at the work being carried out by the team at The Haven. I had the opportunity to meet with some of the Haven’s residents and hear their own tales of addiction struggle and triumph involved in their addiction journeys.
I came away with the resolute feeling that there is so much more to be done. The Haven is an outstanding place but charities like it are crying out for more funding from the Scottish Government and in return will help increase capacity with rehab beds. They were quite clear about this.
They, and others, have found bureaucracy and red tape limiting their ability to expand. That’s simply not on.
With Scotland consistently registering more than 1,000 drug deaths in every year since 2018, the Scottish Government must listen to and support those organisations best placed to bring these numbers down.
When every extra rehab bed funded could mean another life saved, it should be a no-brainer for ministers. Whomever the Drugs Minister is, or Health Secretary, or this year’s latest First Minister – they MUST put our drug death crisis front and centre of public health.