Kirsten Horsburgh, Chief Executive Officer at Scottish Drugs Forum, says:
“We stand in solidarity with Scottish Drugs Forum member Turning Point Scotland as it fights to save two essential services in Glasgow.
“It is difficult to overstate the impact that losing these services would have on people seeking support – particularly Scotland’s only crisis centre, which provides care in the most urgent and life-threatening circumstances.
“The third sector, wider drug and alcohol sector and people of Glasgow must ask why vital support – delivered by Turning Point Scotland on behalf of Glasgow Health and Social Care Partnership – is being threatened by City Property, an arm’s length organisation wholly owned by Glasgow City Council.
“In our manifesto, we call for long-term, secure investment that gives services stability to plan, innovate and meet the needs of the people they support. Frontline teams should be able to focus on delivering life-saving care, not fighting aggressive rental costs.
“We also call for a strong, skilled and supported workforce. The dedicated staff who deliver these Turning Point Scotland services need stability and security too. Creating uncertainty for the workforce risks undermining the ability of frontline services to retain skilled and experienced people.
“We urge City Property and Glasgow Health and Social Care Partnership to work with Turning Point Scotland to agree a quick and fair way forward. At a time when Scotland continues to face a drug deaths emergency, putting this vital support at risk is abhorrent.”
Find out more: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c5y4gk07vnlo