Rapid Action Drug Alerts and Response (RADAR) quarterly report
July 2023

A Management Information Statistics publication for Scotland

Published: 25 July 2023
Type: Statistical report
Author: Public Health Scotland

Drugs

About this release

Our quarterly report

View a printable version of this report.

The Drugs Team at Public Health Scotland (PHS) has compiled this report of drug-related indicators in order to inform action to prevent drug harms and deaths.

The objectives of this report are to:

monitor changes in drug trends, harms and use of services to inform immediate and short-term actions that reduce drug harms
detect potential clusters of harms and recommend appropriate responses.

Data and reporting period

Observed changes in indicators may reflect genuine trends in behaviours, but may also be influenced by factors such as the configuration of services, or data quality and completeness issues.
This release reports on Scotland-level data. Analysis for some indicators is available by NHS Board in the substance use section of the COVID-19 wider impacts dashboard.
These data may be subject to change. Further analysis of these data will be made available in our Official and National Statistics publications on substance use.
Different time periods may be reported across the different indicators. In all cases, the most recently available data are used. Most charts are based upon a 2-year time series.

Further information

After 20 July 2023, the substance use section in the COVID-19 wider impacts dashboard will no longer be updated. Alongside our publication of the next quarterly report, the relevant data for the harm indicators will accompany the report in a RADAR dashboard.

The next release of this publication will be 24 October 2023.

Acknowledgements

This report reflects the collective efforts of different organisations and hundreds of people in frontline and supporting roles who record, organise, analyse and interpret information from a range of sources and services.

We gratefully acknowledge the continued commitment and effort of all those involved.

Update

There was a minor update to this publication on 27 July 2023, in the opioid substitution therapy indicator. The glossary was updated to state that injectable buprenorphine is administered as a subcutaneous injection (previously listed as an intramuscular injection).

Summary of indicators

Police Scotland drug trends bulletin: This update provides information on street benzodiazepines and synthetic cannabinoids.
RADAR intelligence and reports: 24 reports were validated by RADAR between 5 April and 4 July 2023.
Drug-related attendances at emergency departments: The average weekly number of drug-related attendances at emergency departments increased between March and May 2023. A total of 1,081 attendances were recorded in this period – similar to 2021 (1,058), and 13% higher than in the same time period in 2022 (954).
Drug-related acute hospital admissions: The average weekly number of drug-related hospital admissions decreased between January and March 2023. The total number of admissions in this time period (1,654) was considerably lower than expected, compared to the same time periods in 2022 (2,136) and 2021 (3,040) (decreases of 23% and 46% respectively).
Suspected drug deaths: The average weekly number of suspected drug deaths was broadly stable from the end of February to the beginning of May 2023 (23 per week) and then increased throughout May. There was an average monthly total of 100 suspected drug deaths from March to May 2023. This was similar to the average monthly total in March to May 2022 (102).
Emergency department toxicology: ASSIST: Between February and May 2023, the ASSIST emergency department pilot made 448 detections of 48 different illicit drugs in samples from 100 patients. The most detected drug category was depressants (60%), followed by opioids (17%). The most detected individual drug was cocaine (11%), followed by bromazolam and etizolam (both 8%).
Post-mortem toxicology testing for controlled substances: From October to December 2022, the most common drug types detected in post-mortem toxicology were opioids (75%) and benzodiazepines (62%). The most common drugs detected were heroin/morphine (38%), followed by diazepam (35%). Bromazolam was detected in 15% of deaths.
Drug seizures in Scottish prisons: Benzodiazepines were the most prevalent drug type detected in the Scottish Prisons Non-Judicial Drug Monitoring Project between January and March 2023, detected in 21% of samples, with bromazolam being the most prevalent benzodiazepine detected. Synthetic cannabinoids were the second most prevalent, detected in 19% of samples.
Specialist drug treatment referrals: From the end of February to the end of May 2023, the average weekly number of referrals to specialist drug treatment services was broadly stable. The number of referrals during this time period (5,573) was 15% lower compared to the same time period in 2021 (6,531) and similar to the same time period in 2022 (5,625).
Opioid substitution therapy: The average number of opioid substitution therapy (OST) doses supplied per month was stable in the period from January to March 2023, but slightly lower than in the same time periods in 2021 and 2022 (1% and 3% respectively). The average monthly number of methadone doses supplied continued to decrease while the number of injectable buprenorphine doses supplied increased over time.
Injecting equipment provision: The average weekly numbers of injecting equipment provision (IEP) transactions, and needles and syringes distributed, were broadly stable between January and March 2023, but lower than in the same time periods in 2021 and 2022 (17% and 5% respectively).