Drug and alcohol addiction services across Forth Valley are being enhanced in a bid to reduce the number of drugs deaths in the area.
New measures will include a one-stop shop approach to gain faster access to treatment, an outreach team to respond to those who have experienced a drug overdose.
They will also include the provision of Buvidal, which is a long-acting medication which supports people with an opiate dependency.
More than 90 people across Falkirk, Stirling and Clackmannanshire are now being prescribed Buvidal.
Among them is a 50-year-old man from Clackmannanshire, who says the monthly injection has been "a life changer" for him.
He added: "I became a drug user after I lost my daughter's mum in traumatic circumstance and for four years I was addicted to heroin and then for 20 years after I was hooked on methadone although I always managed to hold down a job.
"In August last year I went away to work in a hotel in the middle of nowhere. Buvidal was suggested to me by my support worker and it’s given me a whole new lease of life.
"I gave up my Valium prescription when I went onto Buvidal and feel that if this had been available 20 years ago then there wouldn’t perhaps have been as many deaths due to people mixing methadone with other drugs.
"I’m feeling good. It used to be the whole rigmarole of having to go to the chemist every day and bumping into someone you know.
"If you’d had a bad day and were feeling vulnerable there was always the risk of temptation. I am just starting to get my life back together again from being homeless.
"I now have accommodation and I am hoping I may be able to stop the Buvidal next year."
In 2020, there were 1,339 drug-related deaths across Scotland - 77 of these in the Forth Valley area.
The move towards increasing help for people with addictions is the result of additional funding to all Health Boards and Health and Social Care Partnerships in Scotland from the Scottish Government.
Recently published data has shown Forth Valley is performing very well on the distribution of Naloxone, an overdose reversal medication, which can be used by anyone who has received.
Ross Cheape, NHS Forth Valley’s Service Manager for Substance Use Services and Service Development, said: "We are working with partners across local health and social care services to implement the Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) Standards which increase the efficiency and enhance the quality of our existing services.
"Buvidal is a relatively new treatment for opiate dependence and our clinical teams in NHS Forth Valley have been at the forefront of its implementation.
"It isn't the right option for everyone, but the principle here is that patients have greater choice in treatment, and we are pleased to be able to deliver that."
