Scottish Drugs Forum #STOP THE DEATHS CONFERENCE 2025
Published: 04/09/25
Late August saw Gill and Gordon from our Policy Team attend the Scottish Drugs Forum in Glasgow. The two-day conference highlighted the importance of lived-in experience influencing future strategy, with updates on recent developments across Scotland as well as other parts of the UK.
The event hosted a variety of inspirational speakers and provided insight from those from various organisations and backgrounds, all working with the same aim of improving the lives of those affected by drugs, ensuring dignity, shared involvement, and responsibility. Sessions were impassioned and informative, sharing various innovations and successes, whilst demanding improvement and change necessary to tackle drug deaths. The Community Pharmacy Scotland (CPS) team have taken a lot away from the event, which will inform our work on substance use going forward.
Tackling drug deaths is a national priority, which is why CPS have made this a priority policy ambition in our 2026 Manifesto - read more here.
Minister for Drugs & Alcohol Policy & Sport, Maree Todd MSP also attended the event, providing an update on the National Mission and plans post 2026. We will shortly be writing to Ms. Todd to invite her to discuss our ideas for service development in this area.
This Sunday (07/09/25), NES Pharmacy, in partnership with Community Pharmacy Scotland (CPS), will be coordinating the next national community pharmacy workforce survey. This is the week to capture your staffing data for the Community Pharmacy Workforce Survey 2023.