Glasgow opens UK's first safer drug consumption facility

Based at the Hunter Street Health and Care Centre, the facility - to be known as The Thistle - will operate daily from 9am to 9pm, 365 days of the year.

Safer drug consumption facilities (SDCF) have been in operation across the world for decades.  Evidence shows these facilities can combat drug-related deaths and improve public health by offering a clean, safe place for people to inject their own drugs - obtained elsewhere, not provided or purchased on site - under clinical supervision and access a wide range of treatment and support.

Glasgow has been calling for a SDCF since 2016 following a large-scale outbreak of HIV. An investigation and report into the outbreak, 'Taking Away the Chaos', identified a link to public injecting and recommended a SDCF to meet the needs of the 400-500 people who inject daily in public spaces.

Councillor Allan Casey, City Convener for Workforce, Homelessness and Addiction Services, said: "We have been pushing for a safer drug consumption facility for some time. We know from other safer drug consumption rooms in operation across the world that they do make a difference - they do improve the lives of people struggling with addiction, as well as easing pressure on frontline emergency services. 

"We know this is not a silver bullet - but having a facility that is safe, hygienic and medically supervised will go a long way towards reducing drug-related overdoses, injection-related wounds and infections, and the negative impact that injecting outdoors has on local residents, communities and businesses. We know there are mixed views about having a SDCF, but I am confident we will see the benefits very quickly."

There is overwhelming international evidence which demonstrate Safer Drug Consumption Facilities can improve health, wellbeing and recovery of people who use them and reduces the negative impact public injecting has on local communities and businesses.

Saket Priyadarshi, Associate Medical Director for Alcohol and Drug Services, said: "We have strong evidence from other cities with similar problems that shows a SCDF in Glasgow could help prevent drug deaths, help stem the spread of HIV infection, reduce drug-related litter and significantly reduce costs in other health and social care services. It will provide a severely marginalised group access to the treatment and support they have been lacking for years.

"One of the aims of The Thistle is to support service users to engage with opportunities to improve their quality of life - housing, benefits, health. These are early but important steps into recovery.

"We will learn a lot in the first three to six months, and we will keep developing services in response to the needs of the individuals. A robust independent evaluation will help us understand the impact the service has had on people who use it and the local community."

The Thistle is staffed by a multidisciplinary team made up of nurses, psychology, harm reduction workers, social workers, medical staff and admin.  Staff can offer people safer injection techniques and provide harm reduction advice to minimise the risk of overdose and intervene with assistance if a person does overdose.

The look and feel of The Thistle and the rooms within it have been informed through engagement with people with lived and living experience.  They were also involved in the recruitment process, providing useful insights and guidance.

Within The Thistle there is a reception and waiting area, private chat rooms where users can talk to staff and tell them about the drugs they plan to take. There is a separate using space with eight individual booths (two are wheelchair accessible and have either left or right sidearms), a post injection recovery area with trained staff and an aftercare lounge area where service users can, if they want to, interact with healthcare support staff (with lived experience) and representatives from a variety of support organisations.  There are two health rooms where users can access a range of treatments including having any wound(s) looked at or Blood Bourne Virus (BBV) testing undertaken.

Lynn MacDonald, Service Manager, The Thistle, said: "We have sought to make The Thistle as welcoming as possible and a place where people feel safe and listened to. Staff have undergone significant training in trauma informed care and are ready to offer a compassionate, person-centred service with a focus on reducing the harms caused by injecting drugs and to help people access whatever support they need at the time.

"We are very appreciative of the time and effort from people with lived and living experience in helping design the Thistle to ensure that it meets the needs of the target population.  They were also involved throughout the recruitment process for all staff, providing useful insights and guidance."

Users of The Thistle will be able to spend time in The Lounge area before leaving.  The strongest feedback from lived experience groups, as well as other countries operating a drugs consumption facility, was the need for access to an outdoor smoking area.

Following approval to establish the UK's first safer drug consumption facility, the Glasgow Health and Social Care Partnership began a comprehensive engagement exercise - the most extensive ever done in relation to a new service.  There will be a continued programme of community engagement during the months ahead.

The Thistle will be monitored and evaluated to demonstrate the impact it has on the local area and those who use the service. The evaluation will look at various aspects including litter levels, discarded needles, anti-social behaviour and crime.

The Scottish Government has committed to making up to £2.3 million available per annum for the development, set up and running of the SDCF in Glasgow from 2024/25.

Councillor Casey added: "Giving people who use drugs the opportunity to consume in a calm, hygienic and supervised environment is essential in combating drug-related deaths and improving public health."