£650,000 boost to improve drugs treatment in Lothians

Published on Tuesday 20 January 2009 08:49

HEALTH chiefs in Lothian were today handed an extra £650,000 to help provide better and faster access to drug treatment.

The cash is part of a 3.3 million package giving every health board in Scotland a 13.5 per cent increase in funding for drugs treatment.

Announcing the new money, Community Safety Minister Fergus Ewing said he was keeping as little of the drugs budget as possible for national projects so he could maximise the amount going to frontline drugs services.

Today's announcement will increase the ring-fenced budget for health board drugs services from 24.668m to 27.98m.

Mr Ewing said: "Drug misuse harms individuals and damages communities. Promoting recovery from addiction is crucial to helping people turn around their lives.

"Some may query the spending on drugs treatment, when there are so many other demands for money. To that argument I would say that evidence has shown that for every 1 invested in treatment 9.50 is saved in reduced costs to the Scottish economy and society."