that’s according to ‘Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problems’. The organisation says both that both issues are important but that recent political focus has been on trying to reduce drug deaths without the same attention to alcohol. A ministerial statement will be made later on how to improve the lives of people impacted by drugs and alcohol. The Scottish Government continues to do all it can on the issue.
By Professor John Robertson OBA
BBC Reporting Scotland staff with another report linking the SNP Government with problems which are the direct responsibility of health boards. What is the actual evidence of relative neglect in alcohol services.
See this from Public Health Scotland on 25 June 2024:
Alcohol and drug treatment services both seeing around 90% of referrals within 3 weeks, year after year, with a tiny, not statistically significant, gap in performance.
The news is that these services are both target-hitting consistently and should be getting media attention for that but they never do.
Sources:
The OBA – https://scotsindependent.scot/?page_id=116
Talking-up Scotland 'Albatraz' 
As if the BBC carers one tiny bit about people in Scotland on any matter of health or in any other way, they with their English government
want to see things go back to how they were in the good old days of Scotland being the poor man of Europe, drugs capital if the western world, with life expectancy the lowest in the ‘developed’ world.
Oh wait, that was all while the English government had full control of Scotland, and not one tiny teensy attempt was made to even start to repair the damage when EngUk Labour were at the helm for TEN years at Holyrood! They sent billions of pounds back to Westminster saying ‘nothing to spend it on in Scotland’. NOTHING. SNP need to damn well remind people about that, and start getting into peoples’ heads just how disastrous the union has been for the people of Scotland, and how disastrous it was when the faux Scottish Labour non party were in power at Holyrood!
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If all fairness, Jack McConnell or perhaps I should say Baron McConnell of Glenscorrodale, did get rewarded with a seat in the House of Lords for being so subservient to Westminster control and returning the funding that Scottish Labour could not think what to spend it on!
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Alcohol deaths are falling. MUP.
Drug death statistics are collected differently. In Scotland as a whole. In other places in different categories. In the South in three different categories. Death by poison, death by heroin and accidental overdose. That makes it seem the Scottish total is higher.
The Scottish Gov is funding drug/alcohol services. £250million over five years. Bed numbers had fallen. Now total abstinence, proper rehab facilities are opening. To get people with addiction problems well.
More young people are seeking help. AA and NA organisation helps people get help and into proper rehab facilities.
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