Prevention of Drug Deaths

Patricia Ferguson Excerpts

Thursday 27th March 2025 Westminster Hall

[Patricia Ferguson (Glasgow West) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to serve with you in the chair, Dr Murrison. I congratulate the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) on securing a debate on this important subject. I associate myself with the comments of my hon. Friend the Member for West Dunbartonshire (Douglas McAllister) about Christina McKelvie. I served in the Scottish Parliament with Christina for some 10 years, and she was, perhaps ironically, a real lover of life and a force for good.

I will focus on the Scottish Affairs Committee’s ongoing inquiry into the operation of the safer drug consumption facility in Glasgow, which is the first of its kind in the UK. My contribution will be entirely factual, as I do not want to prejudice the inquiry in any way, or to pre-empt any decisions the Committee may make. It is an important issue and relevant to this debate.

To give some context to the rationale for the safer drug consumption room: Scotland has the highest number of drug deaths in Europe by some margin. The data tell us that some 1,172 people died in 2023 alone, which was up by 121 on the previous year. Much of the action that can be taken to address this problem comes under the powers of the Scottish Government, but that, of course, does not include issues arising from the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971.

The Scottish Government have introduced a variety of measures, but I am speaking specifically about the safer drug consumption space. There are now some 200 such facilities in 12 countries around the globe, and the Scottish Parliament’s information centre explains that:

“Several long-term evaluations indicate that attendees of SDCFs engage safer injecting practices and reduce public injecting, leading to significant declines in HIV and Hepatitis C transmission and fewer ambulance callouts for overdoses.”

The idea of such a facility in Glasgow was first raised more than 10 years ago, but a variety of issues, including the reluctance of the then Lord Advocate, meant that the pilot facility opened in Glasgow only in January 2025, following considerable public engagement and after the current Lord Advocate provided a statement of prosecution policy. Although the possession of drugs remains a criminal offence, the Lord Advocate has indicated that it would not be in the public interest to prosecute users of the facility for simple possession offences, subject to certain limitations. I stress that this applies only to the facility.

Last month the Scottish Affairs Committee visited the Thistle, as the Glasgow facility is known, and we saw for ourselves what was on offer. Users have access to a shower and can receive treatment for wounds and other health issues associated with their addiction. Discrete spaces where users can inject are also available, and staff can offer clean needles. Users bring their own drugs, but staff can give advice when they become aware that a particularly strong or pure drug might be in circulation, so that users are aware of potential dangers. Clients can choose to stay at the centre for a time after injecting. So far, two overdoses have occurred on the premises, but they were dealt with either on site or in other locations, and both individuals made a recovery. Staff can also signpost clients to other services.

Since the Thistle opened in January, there have been over 140 unique service users, more than 1,000 visits, more than 700 injecting episodes managed on site, and the prevention of some 700 to 800 items of drug-related litter in public spaces in the vicinity of the centre. Eighty per cent of the clients are male.

The Thistle is a pilot scheme and will be carefully reviewed and analysed over the next three years to ascertain whether it has helped to reduce bloodborne viruses and other drug-related harms and death. It has become clear to the Committee that the staff working at the Thistle are dedicated, committed, welcoming and non-judgmental. I encourage Members to look out for our report when it is published.