The Scottish Government has announced a big increase in rehab placements - but has been slammed for going too slow. The number of people in residential rehabilitation for alcohol and drug addiction went up to 218 between April and June this year, compared to 78 during the same period last year.
But the target for 2026, pledged by drugs policy minister Angela Constance, is for 1,000 to be in treatment - meaning almost five times as many as today must be placed.
Scottish Labour’s health spokesperson Claire Baker said things need to be speeded up. She said: “Three years ago a public health emergency was declared but we haven’t seen the speed or scale of changed required.
Since the declaration thousands of lives have been lost.“We need urgent action to ensure people who suffer from addiction can access the full range of services as quickly as possible wherever they live.
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