Scottish drug deaths reinforce calls for specialist support

The Salvation Army is calling for an increase in specialist support to tackle drug and alcohol use in Scotland as statistics released today (11 March) show that more than 1000 people are suspected to have died from drug use in 2024.

 According to the latest figures, 232 of those suspected deaths were recorded during the final quarter of the year.

In particular, The Salvation Army’s is calling for: 

• The Scottish Government, local authorities and Health and Social Care Partnerships (HSCPs) to work together to ensure there is drug, alcohol and mental health support available at evenings and weekends in all local authority areas. Many are currently closed at weekends.
• No individual, especially if they are experiencing homelessness, to be denied mental health support on the basis that they are using drugs or consuming alcohol. 

These crucial interventions are outlined in a Salvation Army report Breaking the Cycle  which was launched at the Scottish Parliament last May.

Major (Dr) Will Pearson, Assistant Director of Addiction Services at The Salvation Army, said: “Today’s statistics underline the scale of the challenge we still face in Scotland, with every death a tragedy for individuals and families. These new figures show a very welcome reduction in the number of deaths linked to drugs, but that is from a high starting point. The challenge is to maintain progress. We know only a fraction of people affected by substance use in Scotland are offered the help they need, both short-term help to survive and longer-term help to thrive.

“More than 80% of drug support services in Scotland are unavailable over the weekend. Better access to support for substance use outside normal working hours is essential and will save lives. We must also ensure that no one is denied support due to mental health issues and vice-versa, which remains a problem.”

As a provider of addiction services, the church and charity has helped hundreds of people overcome the harm caused by drugs and rebuild their lives. The Salvation Army Centre for Addiction Services and Research (SACASR) was established in 2017 in a partnership with University of Stirling to develop new ways to help address substance use in communities across Scotland.

The Salvation Army takes what is known as a harm reduction approach, which means prioritising people’s safety over changing their actions while they work at overcoming addiction. 

Will added: “In the push for better access to vital harm reduction measures residential rehabilitation also matters(2). Whilst publicly funded placements have increased by an impressive 60% in the past three years, access remains very difficult and highly dependent on location(3).”

The full ‘Breaking the Cycle’ report is available on The Salvation Army’s website https://www.salvationarmy.org.uk/homelessness-policy/breaking-cycle | For updates and regular information on The Salvation Army in Scotland follow @TSA_Scotland on X.