Glasgow's Safer Drug Consumption Facility is called 'The Thistle' and opened on Monday 13 January 2025.

Glasgow City Health and Social Care Partnership (HSCP) is working with NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (NHSGGC) and other partners to develop a pilot Safer Drug Consumption Facility (SDCF). This will be the first Safer Drug Consumption Facility in Scotland and the United Kingdom.

SDCFs are supervised healthcare settings where people can inject drugs, obtained elsewhere, in the presence of trained health and social care professionals in clean, hygienic environments. The service aims to reduce the negative impact that injecting outdoors has on local residents, communities and businesses, reduce the harms associated with injecting drugs on individuals and support people to access help to improve their lives. The Thistle is the first of its kind in the UK.

Are you interested in finding out more about The Thistle?

Everyone is welcome to visit The Thistle. We’re organising visits and they’ll include a short tour of the service and you can also learn about what we offer and our goals. You will also have the chance to ask any questions you may have about the service. See below for dates of the visits

To ensure we protect the privacy of people using our service, visits are arranged before our service opens at 9am. We would kindly ask that you do not take photos or recordings during the visit. If you need any, you can get them from our press office. 

Dates of visits

Visits will take place between 8am and 9am (before the service opens at 9am) on the following dates:

• Thursday 13 February - fully booked
• Thursday 27 February - fully booked
• Thursday 13 March
• Thursday 27 March
• Thursday 10 April
• Thursday 24 April

If you would like to book a place on one of these visits, please email: ggc.thistle@nhs.scot