Public Health Professor gives evidence at Westminster on UK’s first drugs consumption room

Glasgow Caledonian University Professor in Public Health Andrew McAuley was among a panel of experts who gave evidence to Westminster’s Scottish Affairs Committee on the UK’s first safer drugs consumption facility in Glasgow yesterday (February 12).

The panel told MPs it will take several years for the full health impact of the facility to be understood. However, they said international evidence suggests that local communities will see benefits from such facilities.

Professor McAuley, from the School of Health and Life Sciences’ Research Centre for Health (ReaCH), was invited to give evidence on the opening day of the inquiry into Glasgow’s Safer Drug Consumption Facility, known as the Thistle Centre.

The facility was officially opened in January and provides a safe space where people can inject drugs under clinical supervision while offering a range of other support services.

The pilot scheme in the city’s east end is designed to reduce public drug use and its impact on individuals and communities.

The new inquiry into the facility follows on from a previous investigation by the Scottish Affairs Committee into problem drug use in Scotland in which Professor McAuley attended as an expert witness in 2019.

During a wide-ranging session spanning more than 90 minutes, Professor McAuley answered questions on the root causes of problem drug use in Scotland, the case for the facility in Glasgow and the evaluation methods.

Speaking after the session concluded yesterday, Professor McAuley said: “This was an excellent opportunity to engage with a new group of parliamentarians about the new Safer Drug Consumption Facility in Glasgow.

“The facility has taken a long time from proposal to implementation but represents a major development in drug policy - the first of its kind in the UK.

“My colleagues and I in the Blood Borne Viruses research team have played an integral role in building the case for the facility over the past decade, in collaboration with colleagues from the NHS, the third sector and academia. We look forward to continuing our partnerships through evaluation of the service over the next few years.”

Watch Professor McAuley’s evidence session here: https://committees.parliament.uk/event/23248/formal-meeting-oral-evidence-session/

The photo shows the panel of experts at Westminster after giving evidence – (left to right) Professor Vittal Katikireddi from the University of Glasgow, Dr Gillian Shorter from Queens University Belfast, Professor Catriona Matheson from the University of Stirling and Professor Andrew McAuley from Glasgow Caledonian University.