‘Give addicts heroin free to cut death toll’
NHS report backs Class A drug handouts for users
ADDICTS should get free heroin to cut drug-related deaths in Scotland, according to an NHS report.
It suggests such a move would keep users ‘safe’ and comes amid efforts to set up a ‘shooting gallery’ in one city.
The proposal comes from Scotland’s health promotions body, NHS Health Scotland, in a report on soaring rates of drug-related deaths.
Twice as many people died from drug use in Scotland last year than did 20 years ago – 867, up from 426 in 1995.
The spike has been attributed to an ageing group of long-term addicts, with health officials keen to tackle the problem.
The NHS Health Scotland report, ‘Drugsrelated Deaths Rapid Evidence Review: Keeping People Safe’, states: ‘There is a clear trend of increasing deaths among older people with a drug problem.’
It adds: ‘To provide support to entrenched heroin users, emerging evidence suggests that heroin-assisted approaches may be appropriate where previous treatment has not been successful.’
The report also recommends ‘psychosocial interventions’, such as counselling, alongside treatment – but critics are warning against ‘helping’ addicts use drugs.
Some 61,000 Scots a year use ‘harm reduction’ services that give out free needles and injecting equipment to addicts.
There are also thought to be more than 20,000 people on methadone in Scotland – costing the NHS £18million a year – with some using the heroin substitute for years.
‘Sending out the wrong message’
The report suggests offering ‘heroinassisted’ treatment, which is used in Switzerland, the Netherlands and Denmark.
Addicts are given pharmaeutical-grade heroin prescribed by doctors. They are supervised, so doses are controlled and overdoses are rare. Trials have also been carried out in England.
Plans for heroin-assisted treatment form part of Glasgow Health and Social Care Partnership’s proposals for a safe injecting facility in the city. The Lord Advocate, James Wolffe, QC, refused to back the move to allow possession of illegal street-bought heroin within the facility – but there are no legal barriers to prescribing pharmaceutical grade heroin, and officials are pushing ahead with this part of the scheme.
Scottish Tory health spokesman Annie Wells said: ‘People with addiction problems want to beat the habit altogether.
‘Simply helping their addiction along won’t help anyone in the long run.’
Dr Ian Oliver, a drugs expert and former Grampian Police chief constable, said: ‘This is encouraging drug use and sending out the wrong message. We are supposed to be reducing drug use, not perpetuating it.’
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde said: ‘We are currently reviewing how best to implement heroin-assisted treatment, which can be delivered through existing legal framework. In light of harms experienced by drug users in Glasgow, the case for these services remain as strong as ever.’
A Scottish Government spokesman said: ‘We support Glasgow Health and Social Care Partnership’s proposals for a safer consumption facility, particularly in light of the growing number of HIV cases.’