Scottish Drugs Forum CEO Kirsten Horsburgh appeared before the Scottish Parliament Health, Social Care and Sport Committee yesterday (13 May 2025) to give evidence on the proposed Right to Addiction Recovery (Scotland) Bill.
Giving evidence alongside representatives from Scottish Families Affected by Alcohol and Drugs and Scottish Recovery Consortium, Kirsten’s testimony focussed on the need to implement existing standards as the issues of service access and quality should not be the subject of further legislation.
Speaking after the session, Kirsten shared SDF’s view:
“SDF welcomes the fact that this Bill has brought national attention to the vital issue of the problems with treatment provision in Scotland. It has opened up a much-needed conversation about rights, choice, and the quality of care.
“While we support that conversation, we do not believe a legislative process is the right approach because the core issues facing people who use drugs – limited access to timely, acceptable, high-quality treatment and disempowerment within services – are not legal problems, but problems of culture, capacity, and resourcing within the system.
“Legislation cannot guarantee service quality, build trust, or create the person-centred, trauma-informed environments that evidence shows are essential to engagement.
“Attempting to legislate for clinical decision-making risks adding bureaucracy and confusion without delivering meaningful change.
“What is needed is not a legalistic process that is detached from people’s real-life experiences, but a commitment to fully implementing existing standards and recommendations (of which there is no shortage), investing in services, and embedding lived and living experience in the design and delivery of care.”
LINKS
You can watch the two panels from today here – CLICK HERE
For more information on the MAT Standards: Click Here
For more information on the Charter of Rights for People Affected by Substance Use: Click Here