Difficult to see how right to recovery would be enforced, MSPs told

It is “difficult to see” how a right to recovery from addiction would be enforced, MSPs have heard.

Former Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross has proposed the Right to Addiction Recovery (Scotland) Bill, which would mandate that those struggling with addiction be given the treatment recommended by a doctor.

The legislation is currently being considered by the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee but experts have raised concerns that the lack of residential treatment beds in Scotland could make the Bill hard to enforce if it becomes law.

As of September of last year, 513 residential rehab beds exist in Scotland, with the Scottish Government aiming to increase that number to 650 by next year, but facing pressure to go further to stem the tide of drug deaths.

Appearing before the committee on Tuesday, Law Society of Scotland solicitor Hilary Steele suggested it could be a struggle to uphold the Bill’s requirements if capacity becomes an issue.

“It’s difficult to see how a right to, for example, residential treatment can be enforced if there is a lack of residential facilities available,” she said.

“The right to treatment, in terms of enforceability, I would struggle to see how that can be enforced in terms of the current situation.”

Ms Steele made a comparison with her current area of practice, where she works with people detained under the Mental Health Act.

She relayed a case earlier this month where a woman had to be taken from Edinburgh to Aberdeen due to a lack of beds.

“The question would be, would that enforceability allow one health board to move a person to another health board, or to another area of the country, to provide treatment,” she said.

“It’s a struggle to me to see how you can enforce that right to treatment without the facilities present or without the funding present to allow for that care and treatment.”

The committee took evidence on the Bill as Public Health Scotland released its latest figures for opioid dependence in Scotland.

According to the figures, an estimated 43,400 people are believed to be dependent on opioids as of 2022-23.

The figure was approximately 5,300 people less than the same estimate done in 2014-15.

Responding to the figures, Health Secretary Neil Gray said: “These findings underline that opioid dependence remains a key challenge in Scotland, though we are aware from Radar reports and other surveillance measures that the landscape is changing.

“Evidence shows that opioid substitution therapy (OST) is effective in achieving positive outcomes and this report estimates that in 2022-23 almost two-thirds of people with opioid dependence had received OST treatment during the year.

“This compares well to many sites globally.

“We will continue support this through our implementation of the medication assisted treatment standards.

“Through our national mission on drugs, we’re taking a wide range of evidence-based actions, including supporting the opening of the UK’s first, safer drug consumption facility pilot, working towards a drug-checking pilot and widening access to life-saving naloxone, treatment and residential rehabilitation.”

Scottish Labour deputy leader Dame Jackie Baillie said thousands of Scots were still “counting the hours from one hit to the next”, adding: “While the reduction in opioid dependency among younger people is welcome, the aging profile of opioid addicts is a reminder of the decades wasted if there is no pathway to recovery.

“The SNP Government must ensure that anyone who tries to quit this dangerous drug has the support they need.”