DRUG ADDICTS are entering treatment for their habits quicker than ever, the Scottish Government has claimed.
Figures released by NHS Scotland’s Information Services Division yesterday show that 91.5% of the 11,100 drug and alcohol addicts who sought treatment between July and September this year entered treatment within three weeks.
However, just over three quarters of the 740 addicts who sought help in Tayside (76.4%) of addicts were seen within this timeframe.
In Fife, 88.7% of the 653 referrals to drug and alcohol services began treatment within the three-week period.
Scottish Government Minister for Community Safety and Legal Affairs Roseanna Cunningham said: “Prior to 2007, much of the information we now have about access to drug treatment did not exist.
“We know more now than ever before about waiting times for drug treatment and people in drug treatment services.
“In 2007 we inherited waiting times for drug treatment of over a year.
“Figures published yesterday show that waiting times are continually reducing and more than 90% of people access drug treatment within three weeks of their referral.
“It is this Government’s firm belief that recovery from serious drug addiction is possible and as a Government, we are doing all we can to make that a reality for people across Scotland.
“That’s why we have provided record investment in front-line drug services over £162 million from 2007/08 to 2012/13, an investment which represents an increase of over 20% since 2006/07.”
Yesterday also saw the publication of the first report of information on people in drug treatment form the Scottish Drug Misuse Database and whether they have managed to defeat their habits.
Ms Cunningham said: “We have been working since we introduced the Road to Recovery drugs strategy in 2008 to gather better information on the outcomes of drug treatment in Scotland and today’s publication marks an important starting point.
“This first release of information from the Scottish Drug Misuse Database provides us with information we have never had before on a small cohort of people in drug treatment.”