Opening of UK's first drugs consumption room delayed

Key Points

The £2.3m facility – the first of its kind in the UK – was due to open on October 21
The opening has been pushed back while checks are conducted on the building
Scotland continues to have the worst rate of drug deaths in Europe
Drug deaths in Scotland have surged by 12% in a single year
The centre will be open 365 days a year to allow addicts to inject drugs such as heroin under supervision
The Scottish Government has backed the plans but some MSPs have raised concerns

The opening of the UK’s first official drugs consumption room in Glasgow has been delayed.

The £2.3m facility – the first of its kind in the country – was set to open on October 21 in a bid to help tackle Scotland’s drug death crisis.

However, the opening has been pushed back while checks are conducted on the building.

The site based in the Hunter Street Health and Social Care Centre in the East End of the city will allow addicts to inject drugs such as heroin under the supervision of health professionals.

The centre is said to be able to accommodate 30 users at one time and will be open from 9am to 9pm all year round.

Draft design of the Glasgow City SDCF GCC

A Glasgow City Council spokesperson said the building will open as soon as it passed a “stringent NHS Assure process”.

A spokesperson: “We are close to opening the UK’s first Safe Consumption Drug Facility and like any project of this scale, there are complexities which need to be worked out.

Scotland

Scotland’s drug deaths worst in Europe amid 12% surge

Figures reveal 1,172 people died from drug misuse in 2023 – 121 up from the year before.

“Whilst we haven’t been able to meet our estimated opening date, all partners continue to work at pace to ensure that we get this service open as soon as possible.

“This will happen once the building passes the stringent NHS Assure process which has been put in place to ensure public safety.”

Work to transform the centre to a fully-working drug consumption facility began on Monday, March 11.

The Scottish Government backed the plans following the news that drug deaths in Scotland had risen by 12%.

Figures from the National Records of Scotland (NRS) showed that 1,172 people died due to drug misuse in 2023 – 121 up from the year before.

Scotland continues to have double the rate of drug deaths as the rest of the UK and more than other European countries.