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Listen
1. Introduction
It is vital that we establish ways of working that help to reduce the number of drug deaths, which are currently sitting at their highest ever level (421 in 2006). This is not just a job for Government, it is for everyone involved in the treatment and care of people who use drugs. We must ensure that people have access to treatment and the essential care that goes with that in all areas across Scotland.
The Scottish Government is grateful to the National Forum members for producing this helpful first report. The Forum's work builds on the recommendations from the 2005 publication, 'Taking Action to Reduce Scotland's Drug-related Deaths'. One of the recommendations from that document was the establishment of a 'national preventing drug-related deaths forum' with a remit to report to Ministers annually on trends and causes of death and identify interventions to prevent them. The National Forum was established to meet that recommendation.
Although a lot has been achieved, the work of the Forum is at an early stage. Throughout the Forum report it is clear that the group is listening to people working in the field and learning from their experiences. Key research findings are reflected in the document. Delegating the work to sub-groups has produced practical results. We will be looking to the Forum in the coming months to continue with this work and to link closely with the new national drugs strategy in delivering its aims.
The strategy's principal aim is to promote recovery. A greater focus on recovery should deliver outcomes such as fewer people addicted to drugs, more people moving on into employment and education, more people being housed and living in a safe, secure environment. Ultimately, a greater focus on recovery will also mean healthier people who are not dying from problem drug use.
Some practical work has already been taken forward. Working with the General Register Office for Scotland ( GROS) and with the help of pathologists from across the country, a sub-group of the Forum have redesigned the form used by pathologists to gather information for GROS, which they use to produce annual National Statistics on drug deaths in Scotland. This provides a snap shot on the number of people dying, although it does not give any background on the individual. To address this, the Forum looked to improve on the information being gathered and developed a database to collect details on the circumstances around each individual death to give a greater understanding of how people die. This work is shortly to be piloted in Lanarkshire and Forth Valley.
The Forum have a well established service user group who, in addition to providing the perspective of users on issues raised in the Forum, are working on a leaflet to help bereaved parents and friends in the aftermath of a drug death. The leaflet will provide information on what they should do, what they are entitled to know and who to ask for that information. The group identified this as a gap in provision of information which needed to be addressed. The Government recognises the value of the Forum's service user group. We have been working with them on developing the concept of recovery in a substance misuse context and plan to develop the group's work still further to assist in implementing the drug strategy.
The Government sees the Forum report as a 'first step' in the development of ways to prevent unnecessary loss of life and accepts the recommendations outlined in the report which cover statistics, co-ordination, research, information, prevention, campaigns and innovative ideas. We must now all work together to turn these recommendations into practical measures, some of which are outlined above.
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