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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Politics
Severin Carrell Scotland editor

Mental health policies for drug users not being followed in Scotland, say experts

Scotland has Europe’s highest drugs death rates, 3.7 times higher than the UK as whole.
Scotland has Europe’s highest drugs death rates, 3.7 times higher than the UK as whole. Photograph: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images

Scotland’s health services are failing to tackle a mental health crisis affecting thousands of people with drug or alcohol problems because the right policies are not being followed, an expert body has found.

The Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland, a statutory body founded to protect the human rights of people with mental illness, said only a minority of health professionals were using the correct strategies and plans for at-risk patients.

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