Scotland has more drug related deaths than any other European country, though this needs to be set against under reporting in some EU countries. However, while this may shorten the gap Scotland's drug death rate remains, by far, the highest. For the rest of the UK, it is more than 3.5 times higher than that of England and Wales

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The vast majority of those whose deaths are recorded as being attributed to drugs in Scotland are due to use of more than one substance. This is known as poly-substance dependency.  While opioids and methadone are implicated in the majority  of deaths, these figures also show that users often take lethal combinations which, increasingly, include benzodiazepines such as etizolam. 

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Illicit or "street" benzodiazepines can be sold for as little as 50 pence each and these are believed to be a contributory factor in over 814 deaths with etizolam being responsible for 752 of those. It is believed that heroin users/methadone patients will use these to enhance the effects of heroin/methadone as well as trying to self medicate for psychiatric disorders. 

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Statutory services in Inverness are provided by Highland Alcohol and Drugs Partnership    

 

Web: highland-adp.org.uk/services-for-adults

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Private drug and alcohol centres are available in Scotland. If appropriate, and owing

to availability, it can sometimes be possible to admit someone the same day. 

Scotland has fewer private centres, pro rata to the size of the country and population, 

than England. Wales has the same issue. As such, the further north you are in Scotland, 

the more difficult it can be to access private treatment. It can also be more cost effective to access treatment in England, even when taking travel costs into account. 

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The large rehab clinic chains and referral agents will advertise that they have centres all over Scotland: They do not.

Using images of other companies centres, elsewhere in the UK, and by using post box addresses and mail services at serviced offices, they try and give the impression that they have services in lots of different places. This simply is not true. They do this to get you to pick up the phone. 

 

Paul has three decades as a clinician with many years experience of assessing and prescribing for those in addiction, both in residential rehabs and, latterly, in community services. He has referred hundreds of patients to private centres, all over the UK, and has excellent relationships with their respective admissions teams. Call in and speak to Paul: There is no charge for the service. It is free, totally confidential and he can offer impartial advice on where to go for treatment, what it will cost and when you can access it. 

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