Thousands of people have nearly died of an overdose since Scotland's drug problem was declared a public health emergency three years ago, Scottish Labour said.
The Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS) revealed in that time there have been more than 11,500 instances when paramedics have used naloxone, a medicine used to prevent fatal opioid overdoses, according to data obtained by the party using freedom of information powers.
The potentially life-saving medication rapidly reverses the effects of an overdose from drugs such as heroin, and since 2008 there have been 45,000 incidents when ambulance crews administered the drug in an attempt to try to save a patient.
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Paul O'Kane, Scottish Labour's drug policy spokesman and MSP for West Scotland, said the figures were "deeply concerning and illustrate the huge scale of drug-related harms in Scotland".
"A near-fatal overdose is an awful experience for someone to go through. Not only can it cause significant health harms, it can leave lasting trauma for everyone involved," he said.
"A public health emergency was declared three years ago but we haven't seen anywhere near the pace or scale of change required to ensure people get the help they need - despite the best efforts of those on the frontline."
The MSP called for anyone who suffered a near-fatal overdose to be quickly provided with access to treatment services and other forms of support.
"A failure to do so will increase the likelihood of further overdoses and loss of life," he said.
"We need to ensure that near-fatal overdose pathways are urgently implemented throughout the county."
311 people in Glasgow died as a result of drug misuse in 2021, a rise of 20 from the 291 deaths in 2020.
Since 2017, Greater Glasgow and Clyde has had the largest death rate of all health board areas with 33.7 deaths per 100,000 population between 2017-2021.
In the three years since the Scottish Government declared a public health emergency, Mr O'Kane's party said there had been more than 2,500 drug-related deaths.
This figure could have been much higher had it not been for naloxone.
Police officers across Scotland are also being given the potentially life-saving drug to carry, and in December Police Scotland said 100 people had been saved since its national roll-out began.
Angela Constance, Holyrood's drugs policy minister, said Scotland was the first country to introduce a national naloxone programme and "increasing its provision and availability has been a key priority in our national mission to help save lives".
"The extent of the use of naloxone to prevent deaths in that time illustrates the size of the challenge but also the ambition of the response, including from crucial partners like the SAS or Police Scotland," she said.
"We're focused on supporting those affected by problem substance use, delivering real change on the ground and implementing evidence-based approaches we know can help save lives - as well as investing an additional £250 million package over the course of this parliament.
"This includes the implementation of Medication-Assisted Treatment (Mat) standards, which reinforces a rights-based approach for people who use drugs and the treatment they should expect, regardless of their circumstances or where they are.
"Mat standard 3, in particular, sets out the multi-agency response that should follow a near-fatal overdose, and which is being implemented across Scotland by April this year."
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