ALCOHOL and drugs services in Inverclyde are expected to report an underspend of £131,000 on this year's budget - despite the area's persistently high rates of drug-related deaths.

A report to the Inverclyde integrated joint board's audit committee reveals that the predicted underspend is the result of staff vacancies.

The area has one of the worst records in the country for drug-related deaths with 26 lives lost as a result of addiction in 2023.

That's three fewer than in 2022, but despite the drop, Inverclyde’s rate of drug misuse death is above the Scottish average for the period 2019-2023, and at 37.6 per 100,000 was the third highest in Scotland, behind only Glasgow City and Dundee City.

In almost all of the deaths recorded locally, some form of opiate or opioid was implicated.

Benzodiazepines were involved in 17 of the deaths, while bromazolam was identified in 15 cases.

Despite the stubbornly high rate of deaths attributed to drug and alcohol misuse in the area, it looks like this year's budget will not spent.

Concerns have been raised at previous Inverclyde IJB meetings, and also at the area's social work and social care panel, about the continued underspends in the vital service and staffing levels. 

Officers told members of the committee that it can take up to six months to fill posts, while increased scrutiny from the Greater Glasgow and Clyde Health Board on the restricting of fixed term contracts means that maternity leave vacancies are no longer being filled.

The report's author said: "While we make every effort to fill vacancies as soon as we are aware staff members are moving on, the reality is that recruitment process can often take around 4-6 months between vacancy forms being submitted and the new person being in post.

"There is currently increased scrutiny at health board level on fixed term contracts, which can further delay the process while approval is sought to progress vacancy to recruitment, and we are no longer able to backfill for maternity leave.

"This delay contributes significantly to the position of underspend, with posts often vacant and accruing unspent budget for potentially six months."

Current vacancies within the service include an operational manager and a nursing team leader for day services.

The audit committee was updated on the latest position at a meeting on Monday.