A former drug worker has lifted the lid on a devastating staffing crisis that makes preventing Scotland’s drug deaths “impossible.” The whistleblower walked out of their role at Glasgow City Alcohol and Drug Partnership (ADP), claiming the drug worker staffing crisis leaves many addicted Scots receiving “less than minimum” help.

The revelations cast serious doubt on Scotland’s five-year, £250 million National Mission to turn around the overdose death crisis. The former worker claims the failure is rooted in how money is spent at local authority level.

The Daily Record spoke to the key worker who dealt with access to treatment in Glasgow. They revealed being forced to take on a caseload of 25 clients whilst only being able to give meaningful help to just two or three in some weeks.

Impossible Caseloads Drive Workers to Despair

ADP staff reportedly manage up to 50 people on their caseload. Half of them are regarded as “chaotic” and need immediate hands-on help to prevent high risk of overdose death.

The whistleblower revealed alarming absence rates. On a recent count, a staggering nine out of 16 workers at Glasgow City ADP were off sick due to stress. This exacerbates the drug worker staffing crisis further.

The insider who earned more than £40,000 annually explained their decision to leave. “To be blunt, I couldn’t take any more and I walked out on a job for the sake of my own mental health.”

Workers have 12 weeks to carry out comprehensive assessments on each client. These include whether they have children, whether they need home visits to assess living standards, and linking with criminal justice or other services.

The core team faces even greater challenges. Each worker manages a caseload of 50 people—typically including 20 who are stable and 20 who are chaotic.

“The reality is that just one chaotic client can take about three days of a worker’s week,” the whistleblower explained. “And yet you’ve got two duty days every week doing paperwork, where your own cases are not being looked at. So it’s a joke, to be honest, to think that people are being given adequate or even minimal care or any chance of recovery.”

Mental Health Impact on Frontline Staff

The former worker described episodes of crying at their desk before choosing to leave. “I would open my laptop and I’d find myself crying, just feeling overwhelmed, feeling that I’m failing my clients, feeling that I’m not doing what I’m meant to be doing.”

Soaring absence levels by burnt-out colleagues have intensified stress for those who battle on. Workers believe uncertainty in funding levels after the National Mission ends in 2026 puts their jobs at risk.

Two separate union grievances have been taken out against the ADP. These relate to overwork and oppressive caseloads stemming from the drug worker staffing crisis.

After the whistleblower went on sick leave, two others rapidly followed. “In one team there were 60-65 per cent of staff off on the sick. So from a team of around 16 there were nine off. It wasn’t possible to function properly.”

Patients Left in Limbo

The former worker called it “tragic” to see those who have worked hard to be stable and are ready for rehabilitation being ignored. Trying to get mental health assessments for patients is “horrendous, shameful.”

One example illustrated the systemic failure. A person who completed detox, remained stable, showed clear motivation for recovery, and presented clear mental health problems waited 12 or 13 weeks for a mental health assessment.

“That person is in limbo and so vulnerable to a relapse. And to me that’s shocking,” the whistleblower said.

The lack of referral prevents access to psychological or psychiatric therapies. “It’s another area where people are being let down. The glaring risk here is the good work is undone and people drift back to old influences. That’s something I see happen all the time.”

National Mission Criticism Mounts

The latest condemnation of the five-year National Mission comes after claims by Professor Catriona Matheson. The former head of the Scottish Drug Death Taskforce accused the Scottish Government of ignoring her work and putting politics before saving lives.

Latest figures show no major impact on drug deaths in five years. Recent signs indicate things may be getting worse instead of better.

The National Mission ends in the coming months. Its “predictable” shortcomings have been widely criticised by experts and frontline workers.

Methadone Prescription Problems Persist

Despite five years of greater funding, dysfunctional and dangerous application of Opiate Replacement Therapies like methadone has continued to plague ADPs, according to the whistleblower.

“I was speaking to a woman I know recently, who was burying her son. He started on a methadone prescription at the age of 16 and he died last week at the age of 40, still on the prescription.”

The worker emphasised that in Scotland, the idea of treatment having a beginning, middle, and end is lost. “I’m not knocking harm reduction methods but when it goes on for decades it becomes something else—and there’s too many people in Scotland in that situation.”

The endless cycle continues of people seeking to get on methadone whilst mixing it with other street drugs. They fully understand their lives are at stake. “We’ve done nothing to make a dent in that big problem.”

MAT Standards Implementation Failures

Another area of failure is delivery of Medication Assisted Standards (MAT)—a main plank of the Drug Deaths Taskforce work.

“The MAT Standards were a great idea, giving people a quick gateway into immediate treatment and a realistic chance of moving lives forward. But there has never been enough thought on the impact that meeting the standards would have on workloads and staff’s ability to continue to provide a service for patients already in treatment.”

This has created a massive problem. Many clients receive minimal interaction—or less—and virtually no therapeutic contact with care managers.

The focus on drugs has also meant less attention for those with alcohol problems, according to the worker.

Scotland’s Polydrug Epidemic Challenge

The drug death rate had been gradually rising from 455 in 2007 to 706 in 2015. By 2016 there were 868 overdose deaths recorded. By 2020 it reached a record high of 1,339.

The polydrug epidemic became very clear. Most deaths feature a cocktail of substances, with etizolam being most common.

The Daily Record first began reporting on “street Valium” emergence in 2016. The tell-tale blue dye used in crudely produced pills became a common sight in housing schemes.

It marked the front end of a street benzodiazepine eruption that has been the ruin of Scottish communities. Criminal gangs ran their own drug labs in shady warehouses.

Addicted Scots aren’t taking party drugs for a good time. They commonly seek oblivion—a release from anxiety and stress from trauma in current or earlier life. For some, the risk of death is one they are prepared to take.

Government Response to Drug Worker Staffing Crisis

Drugs and Alcohol Policy Minister Maree Todd said: “We value every member of this workforce and their wellbeing is a top priority.”

She acknowledged challenges to recruitment and retention. The government is working to address this with Alcohol and Drug Partnerships and other partners.

“We will continue to listen to staff’s concerns, and work hard to understand and address the pressures they face.”

The government has supported introduction of the National Wellbeing Hub and Wellbeing Helpline to support staff. It provided extra funding for recruitment to help reduce vacancies and caseloads.

Total funding for alcohol and drugs was more than £160 million in 2025-26. ADP funding increased to £115 million for 2025-2026, including £28 million to Glasgow.

The Scottish Government says it has also provided an extra £5 million for residential rehabilitation. Staff have access to a £2 million Residential Rehabilitation Additional Placement Fund.

A spokesperson for Glasgow Health and Social Care Partnership said: “We will continue to engage with staff and service users to meet the demands and needs in this challenging and everchanging landscape of addiction.”

The whistleblower’s testimony raises fundamental questions about whether increased funding alone can address Scotland’s drug death crisis. Without adequate staffing levels and manageable caseloads, even substantial financial investment may fail to deliver meaningful change for those seeking help.

Source: dbrecoveryresources