Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Dundee drugs deaths to be tackled with new mental health crisis service

A new initiative has been launched to tackle substance abuse

A ‘pioneering’ new project to combine addiction and mental health services to tackle drug abuse and deaths in Dundee has been announced.

The new project hopes to strengthen the city’s efforts to tackle drugs deaths and the mental health problems associated with substance misuse.

Last year, drug-related deaths in Dundee hit a record high, after rising for the sixth consecutive year.

The integrated substance use and mental health response will be delivered in communities and provide a crisis service in the evenings and over the weekend.

Such integration of mental health and substance abuse services has not yet been seen in Scotland, and will test how such a strategy works.

Funded for two years, it will complement ongoing separate initiatives across Dundee to provide mental health assistance to people.

Dedicated mental health emergency vehicle

This includes the provision of a dedicated mental health emergency vehicle which has  been put to use in other projects, as well as the development of a Community Wellbeing Hub which will be “always open” and operate 24/7.

Development of the new project followed the Dundee Drugs Commission and the Independent Inquiry into Mental Health services in Tayside.

Under the Dundee Alcohol and Drug Partnership (ADP) Action Plan for Change, the new initiative forms part of a collective response to the city’s drugs death situation.

The Dundee Drugs Commission will reconvene this summer to review implementation of its recommendations. Meanwhile, a statement of intent from city leaders underlining their commitment to tackle drugs deaths has been sent to front-line workers.

It comes after strong calls for a dedicated mental health crisis centre to be opened in Dundee.

Councillor Ken Lynn, chairman of the Dundee Health and Social Care Partnership’s Integration Joint Board, said: “Work beginning on this new initiative illustrates how determined we are to intervene and make a real difference to people’s lives.

Dundee drugs deaths situation ‘unprecedented’

“The situation in Dundee is unprecedented and demands the strongest response possible.

“Our innovative work to provide a joint substance use and mental health approach will be Scotland-leading and I hope will integrate services in a vastly improved way for the people who really need them.

“Everyone involved in this effort from across the wider Dundee Partnership is absolutely determined to turn this terrible situation around.

“However, we are under no illusions about the scale of the task and the commitment it will take to heal decades of tragedy.

“We are committed to doing this properly. It is members of our communities and their families and friends who are suffering and they deserve a better future.”

Dundee mental health campaigner Amanda Mclaren
Dundee mental health campaigner Many Mclaren.

Mandy Mclaren, a mental health campaigner in Dundee, also welcomed the project but wondered whether it would be enough.

“The emergency vehicle is good, but in a city like Dundee that’s plagued by drug abuse, mental health, and drug deaths I don’t know if that’s going to be enough,” she said.

She also stressed that it shouldn’t come at the expense of other services to tackle mental health problems in the city.

“The left-hand needs to know what the right is doing,” she added.

Michael Marra, Labour MSP for the North East, welcomed the project.

Mental health care exclusion

“This project is a welcome start to the huge shift in culture and practice needed in our health services in the city,” he said.

“Having a drug addiction must not exclude you from mental health care. For too long that has been the case.

“This is just one part of the overhaul of mental health services that is urgently needed and that has been long campaigned for by families across Dundee.

“The pandemic has made that remobilisation ever more vital.”

The project is being part-funded through the Drug Deaths Taskforce Innovation Fund, which was launched by the Scottish Government last year in response to the rising number of fatalities.

Scottish Government drugs policy minister Angela Constance said: “I welcome this new project.

Drugs policy minister Angela Constance.

“We know that only around half of those most at risk from death are currently accessing treatment and I am determined, as part of our national mission on drug deaths, to increase that number and ultimately save lives.

“We believe this initiative will encourage more people to come forward for help as it offers a more person-centred and integrated approach to treatment, including mental health services where appropriate.

“Importantly, support will also be available for the families of those with problematic drug use.”