Latest drug stats are ‘worrying’

A ‘WORRYING’ rise in the number of drug related hospital stays in Dumfries and Galloway have been recorded. New statistics from Public Health Scotland has revealed that the number has increased in recent months following a brief drop, the figures show that 280 people required hospital interventions during 2024/25 compared to 269 in the corresponding period in 2023/24. This follows a warning from health officials stating that drugs circulating in the region may contain synthetic opioids such as nitazenes, medetomidine or other dangerous contaminants. These can be active in very small amounts and may lead to rapid deterioration after use. Recent drug-related deaths in Dumfries and Galloway have implicated nitazenes may have been involved, Chris Allan, Consultant in Public Health, said: “We are seeing an increase in drug-related deaths in Stranraer – and we want people across Dumfries and Galloway to be aware of the risks.” “At the moment no-one can be sure what is in their drugs. That uncertainty is the main danger. “Any substance can be contaminated, and even people with long-term experience of drug use can be caught off guard.” The alarming figures have now ignited further fears from Galloway and West MSP Finlay Carson, who condemned the Scottish Government is failing to get a grip on Scotland’s drugs deaths emergency. He said: “It should be a source of great shame for SNP Ministers that it is the most vulnerable who are paying the price with nearly half of drug-related stays in hospital coming from those in our most deprived communities.” Praising the sterling work being carried out by regional health professionals in dealing with the drugs and alcohol crisis, Mr Carson also warned of the dangers of failing to act accordingly, adding: “Nobody can fault the enormous work being carried out by professionals across Dumfries and Galloway to try and stem this tide. “Tragically lives are being lost while ministers continue to pin all their hopes on state-sponsored drug-taking at their flagship Thistle facility in Glasgow. “But as the figures reveal this is clearly not working and the government should have supported the potentially game-changing Right to Recovery Bill. “Instead of enshrining in law a right to life-saving treatment, including residential rehab, they shamefully chose to play politics with people’s lives.”