Homeless addicts in
Glasgow will be provided with pharmaceutical grade heroin to inject themselves with, in a pioneering scheme intended to combat soaring drug deaths and HIV infection rates across the city.
But medical staff expressed their frustration, as they launched the purpose-built enhanced drug treatment facility on Tuesday, that calls for a safe drug consumption room, which they believe could help hundreds more vulnerable addicts, had been blocked by the Home Office.
Glasgow’s
Health and Social Care Partnership’s £1.2m facility is based in the city centre, alongside existing homelessness health services. The pilot project is licensed by the Home Office and the first of its kind in Scotland, but the second in the UK after
a similar initiative began in Middlesbrough in October. Individuals referred to it will be given a prescription of diamorphine tailored to their requirements, which they must inject on the premises and under strict supervision.
Patients will take their pre-filled syringe from the dispensary counter to a small booth, furnished with a stainless steel counter, a padded chair and a sharps disposal box, which is screened for privacy but has a mirrored back wall to allow nurses to view their progress.
They will spend around 20 minutes in the booth, and then a further 20 minutes in a nearby seating area where they will be monitored in case of overdose. The facility will hold two injecting sessions each day, morning and afternoon, as well providing oral methadone for night-time use.
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