HEALTH MATTERS: We can all help in the battle against drink and drugs harm
The National Records of Scotland recently published data on the number of alcohol-specific deaths in Scotland in 2023.
In August, data was also released on the number of drug-related deaths in Scotland.
Highland Alcohol and Drugs Partnership (HADP) is deeply saddened by the number of people who have died.
Our thoughts are with all families and friends affected by alcohol-specific deaths and drug-related deaths.
It is tragic that the lives of people across Scotland and in Highland have ended prematurely. We acknowledge that more needs to be done to reduce the number of deaths and support people to recover.
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HADP encourages everyone that drinks alcohol to be mindful of the number of units they consume. The low-risk alcohol guidance advises that for all adults it is safest not to regularly drink more than 14 units of alcohol per week.
If having 14 units per week, it is advised to spread this evenly over three or more days, and have several alcohol free days per week. The advice is to also avoid alcohol if you are pregnant or trying for a baby, to avoid risk of harm.
The Count14.scot website is a useful source of information with an alcohol calculator and suggestions of how to cut down – any reduction in alcohol reduces the harm.
In Highland, we review each drug-related death in order to learn lessons and improve practice. This has helped us to enhance service provision with a number of local initiatives, including setting up a multi-agency group to mitigate the risks of drug-related harm, and developing The Highland Overdose Prevention and Engagement (HOPE) app to provide workers and the public with easy access to information on overdose situations, harm reduction, responding to emergency situations and accessing support.
The app was developed with input from people with lived experience of drug problems.
We all have a role to play in reducing drug-related deaths and alcohol-specific deaths.
HADP urges everyone in Highland to be overdose aware by downloading the HOPE App for free. Tackling stigma and discrimination, which often acts as barriers to treatment, is something we can all do by using People First language and demonstrating kindness, compassion and hope towards people and families affected by drug and/or alcohol problems.
We want to thank all partners for their collective action towards addressing alcohol and drug-related harm in Highland.
We will continue improvements in collaboration, and to bring individuals, families, and partner agencies together to continue to achieve better outcomes for next year and the following years.
One area everyone can support is our commitment to challenge stigma and discrimination towards people with problematic alcohol or drug use.
If you are worried about your own or another person drug or alcohol use, a list of support services is available at: Directory-of-Services-2022.pdf (highland-adp.org.uk)
Eve MacLeod is the Highland Alcohol and Drugs Partnership Co-ordinator
