Residential care for drug addicts at 'astonishing' all-time low

Published on Monday 21 September 2009 21:49

THE number of drug addicts being treated in residential clinics is at its lowest since the SNP came to power.

The fall was branded "astonishing" by Conservatives, who are calling for more action from those on the "front line".

But the Scottish Government said there was no evidence that residential programmes work better than community-based treatment.

A national drugs strategy published by the Scottish Government last year put "recovery" at the heart of the process, amid concerns over many addicts being "parked" on the heroin substitute methadone.

The number of addicts offered residential rehabilitation in June 2007 as the SNP came to power was 235 – but this had fallen to 161 by March this year.

Tory health spokeswoman Mary Scanlon, who obtained the official figures in a parliamentary answer, said: "At a time when more and more people in Scotland are looking for help, it is astonishing that fewer and fewer are getting residential rehab.

"In fact, fewer than one in every 50 addicts who ask for help are ever referred to a residential rehab clinic."

Mrs Scanlon has raised questions over "under-used" facilities and claimed nothing has "changed on the ground".

She added: "We created a new political will to deal with the problem and we now have to ensure that it is being delivered."

Across Scotland, the number of addicts getting treatment in a residential facility hit 375 in December 2005.

A Scottish Government spokesman said:

"Treatment in a residential setting can be very helpful for many people, but there is no clear evidence that residential services achieve better outcomes generally than community-based services."

In March, 1,456 addicts were getting community-based support – from 1,474 in December.