Scottish National Party MSP Bob Doris has called for more work to be done on tackling Scotland’s drug epidemic by offering improved services to prison inmates. The SNP Government’s groundbreaking ‘Road to Recovery’ policy was launched in 2008 and has moved government emphasis from ‘harm-reduction’ to the ‘recovery’ model of addiction treatment.

Bob Doris believes that the policy will be even more successful if recovery based services are more freely available to the prison population.

Speaking at an event hosted by Mr Doris at the Scottish Parliament on behalf of Phoenix Futures, the Glasgow MSP said: “The failure of our politicians and various services to make serious inroads into the wider problem is now generational so we need to be urgent with our new approach. Whilst individual treatment must be clinician led, there is clear evidence that some recovery techniques work well and need to be encouraged.

“It is deeply worrying when we look at the number of people in Scottish prisons who have committed drug related offences and who go on to repeat these offences time and time again. We need to make sure that there is adequate support for addicts who want to come off drugs altogether.

Phoenix Futures is a charity that specialises in alcohol and drug addiction recovery through work in Scottish prisons, in the community and at their residential unit at Hamiltonhill in north Glasgow.

Marion Logan, Director of Operations Scotland, and Tam Weir, Specialist Operations Manager, informed MSPs of the problems facing addictions workers on the front line. Their residential facility uses an enclosed community approach where reforming users support one another and learn valuable life and employment skills. Service users from Phoenix were also at the Parliament to give MSPs an insight into their own experiences of the Phoenix programme.

Mr Doris added: “We need to look closely at how organisations like Phoenix can be better utilised and how the Scottish Prisons Service and other agencies can better integrate rehab services. Greater co-operation and continuity of support could lend itself to a reduction of repeat offending by helping addicts to become completely free from drugs.

“At the event we heard from two service users, Tracy Anderson and James Coulter, who are now long-term abstinent. Their stories are moving and I am grateful to them for sharing their experiences with us. They give us all hope that with the right support far more people can come off drugs and live fulfilling, productive lives.

“This Scottish Government has really set the ball in motion but we still need a much fuller debate about how the criminal justice system, health boards and various agencies can work better to provide ‘recovery’ based services which will seriously tackle the scale of the Scottish problem.