Dundee MSP Joe FitzPatrick met with campaigners calling for a new approach to tackling drug deaths yesterday - as sources dismissed criticism of his failure to appear at a summit on the issue at Holyrood.
The Dundee City West SNP MSP sat down with Peter Krykant and the charity Cranstoun in Edinburgh to hear out their requests for an overdose prevention centre (OPC) in Dundee. Such a centre would give people with drug dependency issues a safe place to use substances, with appropriate aftercare and support to help them beat their addiction.
Mr FitzPatrick pledged his support to a Dundee OPC during the meeting. However, he was criticised by opposition MSPs for failing to also appear at a drug death summit held at around the same time organised by North East Labour MSP Michael Marra.
Posting photos of the meeting on Instagram, Mr FitzPatrick said: "Yesterday at The Scottish Parliament I had a very useful meeting with Cranstoun and Peter Krykant, activist and campaigner, to discuss their calls for an Overdose Prevention Centre in Dundee.
"I was pleased to back these calls and sign Cranstoun's pledge, with further discussions to follow around how to push forward work to bring such a service to Dundee. An Overdose Prevention Centre is somewhere where someone who injects drugs can do so in safety and with supervision.
"Cities and countries across Europe and the world now offer OPCs and most recently a site opened in New York, helping to save lives. Having seen an OPC on operation in Paris during my time as Public Health Minister, I know that they can make an important difference, helping to engage people with support services, reduce harm, and save lives."
The Courier newspaper reports that Tess White, Conservative North East region MSP, had criticised Mr FitzPatrick for failing to appear at the roundtable. She said: "This snub only hammers home what Joe’s priorities are, and those of his government."
However, it is understood that the Dundee MSP met with Mr Krykant and Cranstoun immediately after convening the Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee. It started at 10am and ended in the afternoon around the time the parliament's formal daily business began.
Sources with knowledge of the former public health minister's schedule said he couldn't appear at the summit because his meeting with campaigners took place at the same time. Denying the claim he had "snubbed" families affected by drug use, a source said: "Joe was meeting with Peter and his Cranstoun colleagues at the same time as the roundtable."
Tuesday’s event was meant to be followed by a debate on the Dundee Drugs Commission at the Scottish Parliament, which was also prompted by Labour MSP Mr Marra. He has called for greater urgency on the city's drug death crisis after a report published in March criticised the Dundee Partnership's inaction on the issue two years after the Commission released its first report.
However, the discussion was postponed after a number of amendments were tabled during a debate on whether the parliament should retain emergency powers introduced during the coronavirus pandemic. The announcement of a new independence referendum in October 2023 was also blamed for causing Holyrood's schedule to overrun by nearly two hours on Tuesday.
Mr Marra said on Twitter: "Due to the First Minister’s statement on her referendum bill the debate tonight on Scotland’s drug deaths has been postponed." MSPs are expected to discuss Mr Marra's motion on Thursday instead. He says he is concerned that "the scale of the challenge to turn the situation around hasn’t been fully appreciated" by local leadership.
Drug deaths in the city have increased more than seven-fold over the last two decades, according to official statistics. National Records of Scotland figures say annual death rates in Dundee rose from an average of 5.9 per 100,000 people between 2000-2004 to 43.1 per 100,000 between 2016-2020.
Earlier this month, the Dundee Partnership said it "accept[ed] that there is much more to be done" on tackling substance misuse in the city. In an open letter published three months after the Commission's latest report NHS, police, council, social care and voluntary chiefs promised to do more.
"We believe that our collective effort can and will deliver transformative change for some of the most vulnerable citizens of Dundee, enabling them to recover and to thrive," the letter concluded.
But for activists like Peter Krykant - himself a former drug addict - there can be no more waiting. After the Holyrood debate was postponed, he tweeted: "Scotland's most pressing issue, 3 preventable deaths on average every day."
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