Overview

This release presents the findings from the baseline phase of the PHS evaluation of the Scottish Government Residential Rehabilitation programme.

Scottish Government Residential Rehabilitation programme

The Residential Rehabilitation programme (2021–2026) was launched to help improve access to residential rehab for individuals who use alcohol or drugs.

It is part of the Scottish Government’s National Mission to reduce drug deaths and improve the lives of those impacted by drugs.

PHS evaluation

The overarching aim of the evaluation is to assess the impact of the Scottish Government programme – on how residential rehab is organised, how easily it can be accessed and how well it delivers for individuals with substance use issues across Scotland.

The evaluation is part of the wider PHS evaluation of the National Mission.

Main report and supporting documents

The main report synthesises the baseline findings across different research projects. Four of the research projects are released as stand-alone publications:

• Perceptions of residential rehabilitation among referrers.
• Exploring the provision of post-residential rehabilitation support services.
• Exploring demand for and perceptions of residential rehabilitation amongst people who experience problems with drugs across Scotland.
• Exploring the experience of accessing residential rehabilitation for substance use. Baseline survey of residential rehab clients.

Next steps

The final PHS evaluation report will be published after the Residential Rehabilitation programme finishes, in 2026.