West Dunbartonshire Council hits out at drug deaths claim

Nov 28 2008 by Marc McLean, Lennox Herald (main ed)

WEST Dunbartonshire’s social work convener has rejected claims the area has the worst drug deaths record in the UK – but admits the council has a “huge task” on its hands.

Councillor Jonathan McColl spoke out following the release of the University of London drugs report which showed that the Dumbarton region topped the league of shame for Britain.

He said: “The report has figures for 107 fiscal jurisdictions in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, with only the Dumbarton fiscal’s office reporting from Scotland.

“While these figures cannot credibly be used to show West Dunbartonshire as the worst in the UK, we are aware that we have a huge task on our hands.

“West Dunbartonshire Council has one of the most dedicated and pioneering addiction services workers, both directly in our employ and working for our partners.”

He added: “Scotland’s addictions services must move away from our absolute reliance on methadone as a treatment and in West Dunbartonshire, we tailor treatment to suit the individual. You cannot operate a one size fits all policy and expect results.

“It’s vital that we remember we are dealing with people and communities, not statistics. This affects everyone, not just those addicted to drugs, and in freeing people from their addiction, we free our communities from the stranglehold of crime and anti-social behaviour associated with high rates of drug misuse.”

A council spokeswoman said: “The council has raised a number of questions relating to the findings in the University of London’s Annual Report on drugs deaths, particularly in relation to the report’s methodology.

“Given that the Dumbarton procurator fiscal was the only fiscal in Scotland to provide data as part of the research, we have not been presented with an accurate picture of the local or national position.

“The ongoing priority for the council is to significantly reduce the number of drugs-related deaths across the area and, as such, operates a dedicated and pioneering addiction service.

“The council firmly believes that treatment should be tailored to suit the individual and should avoid a one size fits all policy. We are committed to taking a holistic approach to tackling addiction, and reducing poverty and inequality across West Dunbartonshire.”

She added: “The addictions service has announced a number of new initiatives due to be launched in the coming months, which include an out-of-hours helpline for people with drink or drug-related problems, and a Naloxone programme, targeting the families and friends of drug-users.

“The programme, which provides practical training on dealing with the effects of overdose, was piloted in Glasgow and was successful in reducing drug deaths.”