Seòmar agus comataidhean

According to Supplementary Report to the Benchmarking Report published on 2 August 2022 the following areas are yet to fully implemented MAT 3:

NHS Shetland - Shetland ADP area

NHS Grampian - Moray ADP area

NHS Highland - Argyll & Bute ADP area

MAT 3 states that ‘Each service within the drug treatment system should have a documented procedure to identify and follow-up people at high risk of severe drug-related harm, including death’. These areas are as follows:

In January 2023 the Scottish Government will be publishing a formal response to the Taskforce report – Changing Lives – which includes an action to address inconsistencies in implementing near-fatal overdose (NFO) pathways under MAT standard 3.

Additionally, local areas have been directed by Ministers to have standards 1-5 implemented by April 2023. The Government continues working with identified areas to support them to progress the implementation in line with this timeframe.

Published information on drug-related (or drug-misuse) deaths can be obtained from the National Records Of Scotland website - Drug-related Deaths in Scotland in 2021 | National Records of Scotland (nrscotland.gov.uk). Information on Local Authority Wards is information that is not held.

The following tables provide the information by Local Authority.

All drug misuse deaths by Local Authority

The number of drug-related deaths by Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD) data zone quintile is not information that is held, but the following table provides the rate.

Drug misuse deaths in Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD) Quintiles, age-standardised death rates per 100,000 population, 2010-2021

The guidance on the pharmacological and psychological management of benzodiazepine dependency published by the Drug deaths Taskforce has now been endorsed as the most up-to-date guidance available and will be updated following further research currently being undertaken and following engagement with prescribers.

£10.3million a year has been made available to ADPs for the implementation of the 10 MAT Standards. This is the specific funding for MAT implementation, and is in addition to the general funding for specific MAT-related activities such as outreach and near-fatal overdose pathways.

Public Health Scotland is working with partners to develop and publish data on the prevalence rate for problematic drug use in Scotland. The next publication will include an estimate of the number of people with problematic opioid use during 2018-19 and this will be published by the end of 2023.

The most recent figures on the prevalence rate for problematic drug use in Scotland were published in 2018 and covered 2015-16.

We don’t hold the data that provides the total number of all events of near-fatal overdoses across Scotland.

The need for improved data sharing has been identified as key for the improvement of near-fatal overdose follow-up pathways. Through the Directors of Public Health National Drug Deaths Incident Management Team (NDDIMT), the need for improved data sharing is being taken forward as matter of priority in relation to MAT standard 3 - that all people at high risk of drug related harm are proactively identified and offered support to access treatment or care and support.

I am actively pursuing options for clarifying the position on information-sharing and discussions are ongoing with the Data Protection Officer around potential action they can take to assist with the sharing of essential information.

The financial costs of implementing standards in each local area are being assessed locally as plans are developed and implemented and so the Scottish Government has not centrally modelled the financial costs of implementing Medication Assisted Treatment standards.

I refer to the member to the answer to question S6W-12709 15 December 2022. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers .

The national roll out of the Police Scotland Naloxone Programme has been delivered in 2 stages. The first stage was a test of change (pilot), covering the period 01-03-2021 to 31-10-2021. The second stage covers the period from the completion of pilot up to the point where the most recent data is available, 02-12-2022. The number of administrations per month, in each stage of the roll out, is provided below.

Test of Change period (01-03-2021 – 31-10-2021) – Total of 51 administrations

March – 2

April - 5

May - 5

June – 10

July - 8

August - 7

September - 6

October – 8

Start of roll-out (01-11-2021 – 02-12-2022) – Total of 44 administrations

November - 3

December - 2

January - 5

February - 4

March - 1

April - 3

May - 2

June - 4

July - 5

August - 2

September - 4

October - 3

November - 4

December – 2 (up till 2-12-2022)

Casualties at each incident are sign posted to drug and addiction services within their area by officers on scene. The details are recorded on the Vulnerable Persons Database, the details of which can be shared with partner agencies to assist the individual.

The National Drugs Mission Oversight Group has met three times. Meetings took place on 30 June, 22 September, and 8 December. Minutes for the group’s meetings will be published on a regular basis and can be founded here: National Drugs Mission Oversight Group - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) .