Evaluating the impact of the UK’s first Safer Drug Consumption Facility
Published: 2 December 2025
The School of Health and Wellbeing and Glasgow Caledonian University are jointly leading an evaluation of the impact of ‘The Thistle’ on people who inject drugs, local residents and businesses, and on public services.
The School of Health and Wellbeing and Glasgow Caledonian University are jointly leading an evaluation of the impact of ‘The Thistle’ on people who inject drugs, local residents and businesses, and on public services.
Our research findings will directly determine whether the Glasgow Safer Drug Consumption Facility is continued, as well as inform the adoption of similar interventions throughout the UK.
The Thistle
Scotland experiences among the world’s highest level of drug-related deaths. The problem is severe in Glasgow where there are also concerns over people injecting in public places. In response, Scottish Government committed £2.3 million per year to set up the UK’s first official Safer Drug Consumption Facility, providing a safe and hygienic environment for people to inject their drugs under medical supervision. Trained health and social care professionals can also help people to access the support they need to improve their lives.
The Thistle opened in January 2025 and was developed by Glasgow City Health and Social Care Partnership (HSCP) and NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (NHS GGC).
Research insights
The evaluation of The Thistle is funded by the National Institute of Health and Care Research (NIHR) and will run until September 2029.
Meetings with local residents and businesses, as well as workshops involving people with living experience, provided important insights to help develop our research plans.
We will interview service users and staff to find out if the facility is working as intended, or what changes may be needed to improve it.
Routinely undertaken surveys will be used to assess changes in behaviours of people who inject drugs, and the impact on health and social outcomes. These outcomes include overdose-related ambulance call-outs, injecting risk behaviours, use of drug treatment services, and quality of life for people who inject drugs – both before and after The Thistle.
Surveys and interviews with local residents and businesses will measure changes in wellbeing, attitudes, and perceptions of safety/crime, and compare these to people in other areas.
We will estimate how many overdoses and other harmful events have been prevented by The Thistle, and assess how many drug-related harms would be prevented if other towns and cities introduced a similar facility.
Overall, we will assess whether the facility is a worthwhile investment for the NHS, and whether benefits outweigh costs for the local community and government.
First published: 2 December 2025