POLICY “intent without action” and an “implementation gap” have left Scotland’s drug death crisis lacking an emergency response, an expert warned.

Speaking at Holyrood at a Festival of Politics event chaired by SNP MSP Audrey Nicol, Scottish Drugs Forum (SDF) chief executive Kirsten Horsburgh said while policy had been going “in the right direction,” a lack of “pace and attention” had hampered progress to curb the crisis which left Scotland with the highest drug death toll in Europe.

Calling for initiatives such as Glasgow’s drug consumption room to be rolled out “at scale,” Ms Horsburgh said: “There are things we are doing well in Scotland and there are obviously things we are not doing well.

“The things we are doing well is finally reaching a point where we have the right policy direction.

“But policy intent without action, the implementation gap and pace are the major issues here. All these things require urgency.

“We’ve described the issue in Scotland as a public health emergency but what we’ve done so far is far from a public health emergency response — it’s lacking in pace and attention that the issue really needs.”

Responding later, SNP Drugs and Alcohol Policy Minister Maree Todd said: “We take the issue of drug deaths and drug-related harms incredibly seriously, which is why we are providing record levels of funding for drugs and alcohol programmes across Scotland.

“I’m glad that experts are welcoming the measures we’ve introduced to reduce drug-related deaths, including widening access to treatment, residential rehabilitation and life-saving naloxone.

“Work continues to deliver drug-checking facilities and we have also opened the UK’s first safer drug consumption facility, which has been recognised globally for its essential role in saving lives.”