Praise for staff as more than a hundred visits made to The Thistle

The facility - known as The Thistle - opened its doors on Monday 13 January. During its first week in operation it received 131 attendances.

Cllr Allan Casey, City Convener for Addiction Services, commended the staff for their efforts and continued commitment to helping as many people as possible.

He said: "It's been an intense first week for the team as all eyes are on Glasgow. I am delighted to hear people are making use of all the facilities available at The Thistle."

As well as being able to use the safer injecting facilities, service users were provided with wound care, clean injecting equipment and naloxone as required. They utilised the wider services available inside including the shower, laundry and lounge area. Some service users have already engaged with housing and drug treatment support.

There were no medical emergencies resulting from drug use within the facility.

Cllr Casey added: "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 communities.

"It's a promising start and I know the team, and everyone involved is eager to engage and welcome more people in the weeks and months to come."

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 Thistle is open from 9am-9pm, 365 days of the year.

For more info, please visit - https://www.glasgow.gov.uk/article/11760/Glasgow-opens-UK-s-first-safer-drug-consumption-facility