Health Minister steps down over drug death total
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Public Health Minister Joe FitzPatrick has stepped down from his job in government with immediate effect after Scotland recorded its highest ever number of drug deaths.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has appointed a dedicated Minister for Drug Policy to lead the Scottish Government’s work on tackling and reducing the harm of drug misuse, supporting the rehabilitation and recovery of those living with drug addiction, and reducing the unacceptable number of deaths from drugs.
The new Minister will report directly to the First Minister.
Angela Constance has been asked by the First Minister to fill the role between now and the election.
Her appointment will be put to Parliament for approval next week.
Prior to entering elected politics Ms Constance served as a social worker, including working with people with a history of drug misuse and families living with the consequences of addiction.
In her time as a Cabinet Secretary she also led the government’s early work on the impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences and as Communities Secretary worked on poverty and homelessness, giving her a broad perspective on the challenges faced by some of those who are at risk of dying from drug misuse.
A new Minister for Public Health will be nominated on Monday.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said: “Scotland’s record on drug deaths is simply not good enough and as First Minister I know we have much more to do.
“As a first step I have decided to appoint a dedicated minister, working directly alongside me, whose job it will be to work across government to improve outcomes for people whose lives are affected by drugs.
“We must not accept a situation in which people who use drugs are allowed to fall through the cracks, with so many dying premature and avoidable deaths as a result. Behind the statistics are real people whose lives matter, and I am absolutely determined that we take actions to fix this.”
Labour and the Liberal Democrats had been demanding Mr FitzPatrick's resignation and were preparing a vote of no confidence in him.
Figures released this week showed that Scotland again had the worst drug death rate in Europe.
The number of deaths increased to a record high of 1264, double the number in 2014 and giving the country a death rate three and a half times higher than England and Wales.
