Drug-related deaths look to be on the rise in Renfrewshire

Drug-related deaths look to be on the rise in Renfrewshire, health chiefs have warned, as campaigners say the crisis is “far from over”.

It was revealed this week that the number of people dying because of suspected drug use in the Renfrewshire and Inverclyde police division fell to 66 in 2023, down five on the previous year.

But alcohol and drug specialists say local intelligence indicates that more detailed data specific to our area – to be published in the next fortnight – will likely reveal an increase in drug deaths in Renfrewshire.

In total 39 people lost their lives to drugs in the local authority area in 2022. For 2023, that number is expected to rise by around 10 per cent, in line with the increases seen nationally.

Campaigners say the figures shows the need for more inpatient rehab facilities.

Liam Mehigan, above, operations director of the Abbeycare Group, which runs a specialist residential rehab and detox service in Erskine, said: “Behind every one of these deaths will be a family left devastated. These figures are a further stark reminder that the drugs deaths crisis is far from over.

“We believe that residential rehab has a key role to play in reducing the number of people dying due to drugs, working alongside other specialist crisis and stabilisation services.

“This is one of the reasons that we would like the Scottish Government to continue to increase access to rehabilitation services.

“As well as scaling up the number of rehab beds available nationally, the focus should be on quality recovery services with multidisciplinary supports such as nursing, counselling, aftercare and family support as provided by Abbeycare.”

Renfrewshire Alcohol and Drug Partnership said it was working to “enhance” rehabilitation facilities locally while First Minister Humza Yousaf also confirmed this week “additional rehab places” would be looked at nationally.

A spokesperson for Renfrewshire Alcohol and Drug Partnership said: “We are aware that suspected drug deaths have increased across Scotland. However, we continue to maximise opportunities locally to better understand the underlying issues and provide appropriate support to individuals and families wherever possible.

“We work corroboratively with key partners and continue to focus on identifying opportunities to reduce drug related harm and deaths across Renfrewshire.

“We provide support in a variety of ways. These include ensuring increased distribution of Naloxone supplies across our local communities continues to be a priority, enhancing access to residential rehabilitation and continuing to engage with people who have lived and living experience to inform the work and delivery of our services.”

First Minister Yousaf apologised to the families of those who died.

He said: “We will work with whoever we need to work with to provide additional residential rehab, for example, to make sure that we get treatment for those who are suffering from substance use.

“What I am committed to do is increasing the funding but I want to acknowledge that these figures are deeply distressing and concerning and worrying.

“But I give an absolute assurance that we will not waver from our commitment to tackle drug deaths.”

Nationally, on average, 100 Scots are dying every month from drug overdoses; a total of 1,197 people died in 2023.

From 2014 to 2020, Scotland saw record-breaking overdose ­fatalities every year, rising from 613 in 2014 to a peak of 1,339 in 2020.

It fell fractionally to 1,330 the following year, before a larger drop to 1,051 in 2022.

Don't miss the latest Renfrewshire headlines – sign up to our free daily newsletter here