Syringe Exchange Programs in Scotland

Harm Reduction

"A total of 269 Injecting Equipment Provision (IEP) outlets responded to the 2010/11 survey. This was an increase from 255 for the 2009/10 survey.
"Approximately 234,000 contacts were reported across IEP outlets in Scotland in 2010/11. This was a decrease of 11% from approximately 263,000 contacts in 2009/10.
"There are, however, a number of factors that are likely to have contributed to this drop in reported contacts. Amongst these are a reduction in the percentage of IEP outlets reporting that their service limits the number of needles/syringes distributed in a single transaction and an increased provision of supplies for the purposes of secondary distribution both in line with national guidelines.
"Where gender of the client was reported, 78% of contacts were made by males. A total of 4.51 million needles/syringes were reported to have been distributed in 2010/11. This was a decrease of 3.7% from 2009/10, when 4.68 million needles/syringes were distributed. NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde reported the highest number of needles/syringes distributed (1.27 million).
"In terms of injecting paraphernalia distribution, there have been increases in, in particular, the numbers of filters and spoons reported to have been distributed by services from the 2008/09 to 2010/11 surveys. Whilst an increase in the number of services reporting this information goes some way to explaining the rise, the size of the increase points to an ’actual’ rise in the numbers of items distributed.
"The majority of IEP outlets have policies that follow the national guidelines for services providing injecting equipment in respect of both secondary distribution (96%) and the return of used needles/syringes (99%)."