Publication - FOI/EIR release

Residential rehabilitation bed statistics: FOI release

Published: 13 August 2024
Directorate: Population Health Directorate
Topic: Health and social care, Public sector
FOI reference: FOI/202300376595
Date received: 19 September 2023
Date responded: 16 October 2023

Information request and response under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002.

Information requested

Please confirm how many residential rehabilitation beds there are currently in Scotland. Please break the number down into type ie. beds used for; stabilisation, detox, crisis and residential rehabilitation to treat dependence.

Response

It is important to note that in-patient detox and stabilisation / crisis services, as referenced in your request, are not the same as residential rehabilitation. Whilst specialist interventions in stabilisation units and detox units are necessary as part of an optimal local drug and alcohol treatment system for those in crisis and those requiring medication stabilisation, the following definition of residential rehabilitation applies:

Residential rehabilitation is defined by the Residential Rehabilitation Development Working Group (RRDWG) as; “Facilities offering programmes which aim to support individuals to attain an alcohol or drug-free lifestyle and be re-integrated into society, and which provide intensive psychosocial support and a structured programme of daily activities which residents are required to attend over a fixed period of time”. There is evidence that adopting a joined up approach to detoxification followed by rehabilitation in a residential setting may lead to better patient outcomes. Some residential rehabilitation facilities offer assisted withdrawal or low level detoxification services prior to an individual entering the rehabilitation phase of their programme. A comprehensive assessment determines whether the client meets the criteria for assisted withdrawal/detoxification. Most people entering residential rehabilitation will need to detox in one way or another as part of the criteria for admission to a rehab facility, so detox is intrinsically linked to, but ultimately a separate service from, residential rehabilitation.

A working group, made up of experts including those with lived experience, has been established to advise the Scottish Government on the most effective use of the £6 million which has been allocated to allow stabilisation and crisis services to scale up across Scotland. That group have also been tasked with developing a definition around stabilisation which can be used for the purpose of allocating that funding. The group is expected to make its recommendations before the end of 2023.

I enclose copies of some of the information you have requested:

Most of the information requested on residential rehabilitation beds is available in the Scottish Government's most recent published report on pathways into, through and out of residential rehabilitation, which was published in November 2021 and is available on our website: Pathways into, through and out of Residential Rehabilitation in Scotland - gov.scot (www.gov.scot). Under section 25(1) of FOISA, we do not have to give you information which is already reasonably accessible to you. If, however, you do not have internet access to obtain this information from the website(s) listed, then please contact me again and I will send you a paper copy.

Since the publication of this report, the Scottish Government has further increased residential rehabilitation capacity as part of our National Mission to reduce drug deaths and improve lives. Over £37 million has been made available through two rounds of the Residential Rehabilitation Rapid Capacity Programme (RRRCP) for the development of seven residential rehabilitation projects which, when completed, will provided an increase of 172 beds by 2025/26, boosting the residential rehabilitation capacity in Scotland from 425 to 597 - an increase of over 40%. Scottish Government officials plan to undertake a further counting exercise before the end of the National Mission in order to provide updated figures on this progress.

The Scottish Government commissioned Scotland Excel, as the centre of procurement expertise in local authorities, to undertake market analysis and further engagement with Alcohol and Drugs Partnerships (ADPs) and service providers to consider the different routes that may available for developing a national approach to commissioning residential drug and alcohol services.

Part of this work included a quantative survey which was carried out by Scotland Excel in November 2022 with ADPs and service providers to gauge the availability of both stabilisation / crisis and detox beds in Scotland. Two summary reports containing the results of this survey have been included as Excel attachments to this letter (Annexes 1 and 2).

Whilst our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in both documents an exemption under section 33(1)(b) (substantial prejudice to commercial interests) applies to some of the information. Further information on why this exemption applies can be found in Annex 3.

The information included in Annex 1 shows that 39 services identified as offering stabilisation out of those who responded (10 Alcohol and Drug Partnerships and 13 providers). The information included in Annex 2 shows that 35 services identified as offering detox out of those who responded to the survey (10 ADPs and 13 providers).

This information is provided with the caveat that these figures were recorded last year, and are only reflective of the organisations who provided a response to the survey. These organisations were also self-reporting, in that there was no assessment carried out against the definitions outlined in the introduction to this response. Some organisations did not respond to the survey at all, and therefore this document does not reflect a complete picture of the stabilisation and detox capacity in Scotland.

Scottish Government analysts are currently planning a further, more robust survey in this area, with a view to this information being published in Spring 2024.

About FOI

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