WHEN the closure of one of Scotland’s busiest needle exchanges for drug users was announced in September, a number of organisations criticised the decision. The police, the NHS, the Scottish Drugs Forum, and Boots, where the exchange was based, all said the closure of the facility in Central Station in Glasgow was a bad idea. In particular, there was concern that the loss of the exchange would exacerbate an already active outbreak of HIV in the city.

However, the company that forced the closure, Network Rail, understandably, took a different view. Their main responsibility, they said, was to provide a safe environment for the passengers who use Central Station and insisted the needle exchange had to close. It is believed their decision was precipitated by an incident in which a drug user overdosed in the station and another in which staff discovered discarded injecting equipment in a toilet.

It is entirely correct that Network Rail should have been worried about the incidents – the discarded paraphernalia for drug users is a serious threat to public health.

The needle exchange opened in July last year and, in the time it was operational, it provided 1,940 people with more than 40,000 sets of clean injecting equipment. That is a significant number and a clear indication that the service was meeting a serious public need with relatively little trouble or anti-social behaviour in the station itself – apart from the one serious overdose, there were very few reported incidents of public nuisance or disturbance. There are concerns among businesses, in particular, about the impact the exchange and its clientele has on Central Station and its environs given that it is a key gateway for investors.

However, it would also appear that, in the last few weeks, the warnings about the consequences of closure are being borne out. The use of needle exchanges in the area has fallen by 20 per cent since the Central Station unit closed; the HIV outbreak in Glasgow has also not been brought under control. The Scottish Drug Forum warned in September that the closure of the Central Station service could exacerbate the HIV outbreak and the early indications are that their warning is coming true.

Clearly there is a need to find a site for the needle exchange, but the location has to be right one. There are also questions to be asked about the strategy of bringing addicts into the city rather than them seeking needles at their local pharmacies.

Fewer clean needles means a greater risk of sharing and therefore a greater risk of HIV. Users who come into an exchange will also speak to the staff about their wider physical and mental health, but that too is at risk. No one would argue with Network Rail for being concerned about the incidents in Central Station, but the danger is that vital support for thousands of people who are already vulnerable has now been left in a dangerous limbo.