26th
October 2006
Addicts
Must Show Determination to Come Clean - McNeil
Addicts who want to access treatment
and other services must show they are determined to come off drugs, MSP for
Greenock and Inverclyde, Duncan McNeil, has said.
Mr McNeil was
speaking after discussions with NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde regarding reports
that psychiatric patients at Inverclyde Royal Hospital were dealing in and using
illegal drugs.
He said:
“Drug
addiction is an all-too-common cause of admission to inpatient mental health
services.
“A lot of
taxpayers’ money is spent on providing health services for drug addicts and,
if they want to take advantage of this generous provision, they need to show
they’re serious about coming off drugs. But,
if dealers are operating in a mental health ward, there must be a market for
their product there.
“I
therefore wonder just how serious some of the addicts are about getting clean.
“And how
much easier is it for those patients who are really trying to kick their habit
to relapse if the drug they’re trying to come off is readily available?”
Mr McNeil
said that the also Scottish Parliament had a role to play in allowing the health
professionals to do their job, adding:
“The
doctors and nurses on the front line and the Health Board management are dealing
with a very difficult situation. They
have tough anti-drug policies in place, with anyone found using, suspected of
using, or dealing in illegal drugs being reported to the police.
The nurse in charge also has powers to search patients for controlled
drugs.
“But we as
politicians also have a role to play.
“We have to
ask what the objective of drug cessation services should be. To get addicts off drugs, or just keep them comfortable?
I accept that, as a first step, we need to stabilise addicts’ chaotic,
criminal lifestyles. But only as a first step.
It is not, as the prevailing attitude dictates, the beginning and end.
“I have
therefore been campaigning for a form of ‘social contract’ to be put in
place which would require addicts who want to access all the services the
taxpayer provides to give something in return.
“If we as a
society provide everything from free houses to free medical care and benefits,
in return they would have a responsibility, say, to stay off drugs, submit to
regular drug testing and have a clear programme for getting clean.
“We need to
look again at our whole approach to these services, moving the focus on to
giving addicts drug-free lives - something I am arguing should be included in
Labour’s manifesto for the next election.”
ENDS
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