Substance abuse treatment high in Western Trust area

STATISTICS recently published by the Department of Health indicate that 31 per-cent of all those who engaged with drug and alcohol services in the North last year, did so within the Western Trust area.

The report broke down the number of people engaging with services within each of the five health trusts, their demographics, and the types of drugs they were most commonly using.

The figures relate to the 12-month period ending March 31, 2021, which, during that time, saw 2,920 clients recorded as having presented to services for ‘problem’ substance misuse. 584 of them were recorded within the Western Trust, which covers parts of Tyrone and Derry, and all of Fermanagh.

Across the North, more than one-third of clients who presented to services indicated ‘problem’ drug use only; a similar proportion presented indicating ‘problem’ alcohol use only; while 28 per-cent indicated both drug and alcohol misuse.

The majority of clients were male. Just over a quarter presenting for treatment for either drugs only, or for drugs & alcohol, were female. However, more than two-fifths (45 per-cent) of clients presenting to treatment for problem alcohol use only were female.

Across the North, cannabis was the most commonly used drug, with almost two-thirds of clients who use drugs reporting taking it. That was followed by cocaine, which 42 per-cent admitted taking.

After these were two drugs which can be attained legally by prescription, benzodiazepines and pregabalin.

The two most popular drugs in the North generally turned out to be the most commonly used in the Western Trust too, with 73 per-cent of those who engaged with services for drug use saying they used cannabis and 48 per-cent saying they used cocaine.

After that, in descending order, the Western Trust’s most commonly used drugs were benzodiazepines, ecstasy and pregabalin.

It is worth noting that only in the Belfast Trust did heroin appear in the top five most popular drugs.

The disproportionate heroin problem in Belfast also seemed to be reflected in the statistics regarding the number of ‘problem’ drug users who ‘had ever injected’.

In the Belfast Trust, 19 per-cent of ‘problem’ drug users had injected, compared with seven per-cent in the Western Trust area.