Item 9 - ADP Update May 26
West Dunbartonshire Council · 21 May 2026
Back to Community Planning West Dunbartonshire Management Board — 21 May 2026 and its agenda
Text extracted from the council's PDF. Layout and reading order may differ from the original.
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Report by Sylvia Chatfield, Head of Mental Health, Learning Disabilities and Addictions CPWD Management Board: 21st May 2026 _________________________________________________________ Subject: Alcohol and Drug Partnership (ADP) Update: Medication Assisted Treatment Standards Implementation, Drug-Related Deaths and Alcohol-Specific Deaths 1. Purpose 1.1 The aim of the report is to provide the Community Planning West Dunbartonshire Management Board with an update on the implementation of the Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) Standards, drug-related deaths and alcohol specific deaths. 2. Recommendations 2.1 The CPWD board are asked to: a. Note that West Dunbartonshire ADP have successfully implemented the MAT Standards; b. Note the drug-related death and alcohol-specific death data, including the unconfirmed increase in 2025. 3. Background 3.1 West Dunbartonshire Alcohol and Drug Partnership (ADP) is a strategic, multiagency group tasked by the Scottish Government to reduce harm caused by alcohol and drug use. The ADP is the framework where statutory and non- statutory service providers assess, plan and deliver services that are developed to prevent problem substance use and provide treatment services for people directly and indirectly affected by problematic substance use. 3.2 Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) Standards The MAT standards define what is needed for the consistent delivery of safe and accessible drug treatment and support in Scotland. The standards apply to all services and organisations responsible for the delivery of care in a recovery orientated system. The purpose of the standards is to improve access and retention in MAT, enable people to make an informed choice about care, include family members or nominated person(s) wherever appropriate, and to strengthen accountability and leadership so that the necessary governance and resource is in place to implement them effectively. 3.3 Alcohol-Specific Death and Drug-Related Deaths ITEM 9
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The National Records of Scotland (NRS) published its Drug-related deaths in Scotland in 2024 report on 2 September 2025, providing detailed information on individuals who died from drug-related causes in 2024. In September 2025, NRS also published its statistical report on alcohol-specific deaths in 2024, setting out the number and characteristics of deaths registered in Scotland that were classified as alcohol-specific. 4. Main Issues 4.1 Medicated Assisted Treatment (MAT) Standards The 29 Alcohol and Drug Partnership (ADP) areas were assessed against the 10 MAT standards using three streams of evidence: process, numerical and experiential. This means that 290 individual assessments were carried out, 145 for MAT standards 1–5 and 145 for standard 6–10. The evidence required to demonstrate implementation of each MAT standard was based on the criteria and indicators in the MAT standards document. 4.2 The evidence submitted for each standard was analysed and scored by MAT Implementation Support Team (MIST) on the extent to which it complied with the agreed criteria and thresholds for each evidence stream: • Score 0 = no compliance demonstrated or no evidence. • Score 1 = compliance demonstrated at some settings/services. • Score 2 = compliance demonstrated at all settings/services. 4.3 The scores for the evidence streams (three for MAT standards 1–5, two for 6– 10) were combined and then all 29 ADPs were jointly reviewed and repeatedly cross checked by the MIST clinical and analytic leads to interpret the information and allocate the final evidence-based RAGB. West Dunbartonshire’s score is noted below in figure 1. Figure 2 outlines the RAGB rating definitions used within this report. Figure 1 – MAT Standards Benchmarking Report for West Dunbartonshire ADP
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Figure 2 - RAGB Assurance Ratings Framework 4.4 Drug-Related Deaths 2024 Figure 3 shows the number of drug-related deaths in West Dunbartonshire fell from 26 in 2023 to 23 in 2024. However, while female deaths decreased from 9 in 2023 to 3 in 2024, male deaths rose from 17 in 2023 to 20 in 2024, matching the highest number of male deaths recorded.
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Figure 3 - Drug-Related Deaths in West Dunbartonshire, 2010 – 2024 4.5 Figure 4 shows age-standardised mortality rates for the five-year periods 2000–2004 to 2020–2024. These rates adjust for population size and age structure, making comparisons over time, between areas, or across population sub-groups more reliable. For 2020–2024, the rate in West Dunbartonshire was 29.8 deaths per 100,000, compared with 22.5 deaths per 100,000 for Scotland as a whole. Figure 4 - Drug related deaths by area - age-standardised death rates for 5year periods, 2000-2004 to 2020-2024 4.6 Figure 11 below shows of all the local authority areas, Glasgow City council area had the highest rate of drug misuse death with 41.1 deaths per 100,000 people for the period 2020-2024, after adjusting for age. The rate of drug misuse death was above the Scotland average in: Glasgow City, Dundee City, Inverclyde, West Dunbartonshire, North Ayrshire, East Ayrshire, and Renfrewshire.
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Figure 5 - Drug deaths for selected council areas, age standardised mortality rate per 100,000 4.7 More than one drug was implicated in 80% of all drug misuse deaths in 2024. The following substances were implicated drug-related deaths in 2024 (West Dunbartonshire): Opiates/opioids (such as heroin/morphine and methadone): 18 deaths (83% of the deaths), of these heroin was implicated in 9 deaths; Methadone 7 deaths Benzodiazepines (such as diazepam and bromazolam):9 deaths (39%) Gabapentin and/or pregabalin: 6 deaths (26%) Cocaine: 8 deaths (35%) Alcohol: 3 deaths (13%) 4.8 Early, unconfirmed indications suggest that drug-related deaths may increase in 2025, potentially reaching levels comparable to the highest figure recorded in West Dunbartonshire of 32 deaths in 2019. The official figures will not be confirmed until publication of the National Records of Scotland (NRS) annual report, expected in August/September 2026.
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4.9 Alcohol-Specific Deaths 2024 Figure 6, shows there were 28 alcohol-specific deaths in 2024 in West Dunbartonshire, representing an increase of 21.7% (5 deaths) on 2023 (23 deaths). Figure 6 – West Dunbartonshire alcohol-specific mortality rate, 2010-2024 4.10 Figure 7, shows the moving average for West Dunbartonshire highlights long- term trends whilst smoothing out year on year fluctuations. There has been an overall downward trend in alcohol specific deaths in West Dunbartonshire, however this has been gradually increasing again in recent years. Figure 7 – Age-standardised mortality rate West Dun and Scotland, five year averages
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4.11 Figure 8 below, shows that after adjusting for age, the rate of alcohol-specific deaths was higher than the Scottish average in Glasgow City, Inverclyde, North Lanarkshire, West Dunbartonshire and Dundee City over the period 2020-2024. There is a statistically significant difference between the rates for these areas and Scotland (the confidence intervals do not overlap). Figure 8 - Age-standardised mortality rate of alcohol-specific deaths by council areas, 2020-2024 average 5. Options Appraisal 5.1 Not applicable 6. People Implications 6.1 The activities required to deliver the ADP’s work programme will be implemented using existing staffing resources and structures. 7. Financial and Procurement Implications 7.1 The ADP Financial Plan will require ongoing monitoring to ensure compliance with Scottish Government funding criteria and to ensure that all plans remain affordable within the overall funding envelope.
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8. Risk Analysis 8.1 Regular financial performance reports to the HSCP board will report on the overall progress of budget performance. 9. Equalities Impact Assessment (EIA) 9.1 There is no EIA required for this report. 10. Environmental Sustainability 10.1 Not applicable 11. Consultation 11.1 There is no consultation required for this report. 12. Strategic Assessment 12.1 This work demonstrates the WDADP and WDHSCP contribution to primary prevention actions in the following national strategies: Scotland's Public Health Priorities: Priority 4 - A Scotland where we reduce the use of and harm from alcohol, tobacco and other drugs Alcohol Framework 2018: Preventing Harm Rights, Respect and Recovery action plan 2019 to 2021 (version 2) National Drug Mission and Outcome Framework West Dunbartonshire HSCP Strategic Plan 2023-2026 Improving Lives Together: All 4 Strategic Priorities 12.2 ADP Ministerial Priorities 2021/22 This work also contributes to the delivery of the following: A whole family approach/family inclusive practice on alcohol and drugs Education, prevention and early intervention on alcohol and drugs A reduction in the attractiveness, affordability and availability of alcohol Name: Sylvia Chatfield Designation: Head of Mental Health, Learning Disabilities and Addictions Date: 21.05.26 Person to Contact: Chris Kelly ADP Strategy Officer Chris.kelly4@nhs.scot Appendices: None Background Papers: MAT standards document
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Drug-related deaths in Scotland, 2024 - National Records of Scotland (NRS) Alcohol-specific deaths 2024 - National Records of Scotland (NRS) Wards Affected: All