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Alert issued over surge in suspected drug-related deaths

Colin ColthartBBC Scotland News
News imageGetty Images Various drugs on a spoon, in a packet and in a syringeGetty Images
Health officials are warning of contaminated street drugs

Health officials have issued an urgent warning following a surge in suspected drug-related deaths in Dumfries and Galloway.

Twelve people have died since the end of December - nine of them in Wigtownshire.

The local Alcohol and Drug Partnership (ADP), has released a video highlighting the increasingly unpredictable and dangerous supply of illicit street drugs.

Penny Halliday - the independent chair of the group - has urged anyone taking drugs to be cautious and assume that any substances they take could be contaminated.

The number of deaths in the past three months in the region already equals the overall total for 2023 - according to official statistics from National Records of Scotland (NRS).

The most recent NRS figures are for 2024 - a year which saw fatalities double in the region with 24 local people losing their lives to substance misuse.

Halliday said: "These people were not statistics.

"To their families, friends and neighbours: my sympathies are with you at this time of loss and grief.

"These individuals were valued. They mattered. And their loss is felt by all of us."

News imageGetty Images A syringe and bottles lying on a grey floorGetty Images
A list of harm reduction measures has been issued after the recent deaths

An appeal has been launched in an effort to prevent further drug-related deaths.

The ADP has issued list of harm reduction measures including:

  • Treat all substances with caution
  • Avoid buying new types of drugs or from unfamiliar sources
  • Avoid mixing drugs, including alcohol and medicines
  • Try not to use drugs alone and seek medical help immediately if someone shows signs of overdose

A Public Health Scotland alert issued late last year warned of an increase in deaths in Dumfries and Galloway linked to powerful synthetic opioids known as Nitazenes.

News imageDumfries and Galloway Health and Social Care Partnership Woman with glasses and grey hair holding two naloxone kits which are used to reverse the effects of opioid overdose. Dumfries and Galloway Health and Social Care Partnership
Penny Halliday said naloxone kits could save lives

Halliday has highlighted the importance of naloxone, a medication that can reverse the effects of an opioid overdose.

She said: "If you take drugs, or know someone who does, I urge you to get trained and carry naloxone kits.

"It's an act of care and could save your life or the life of someone you love."

The ADP has also set up a new forum in Wigtownshire which will include input from drug users in an effort to prevent further loss of life in the area.