Three people were hospitalised following overdoses in Stirling last week.
The Observer understands that two people were rushed to hospital on Monday, April 19, after overdosing at Springkerse House homeless accommodation in Springkerse Road.
A third person also overdosed in the Quakerfield area of Bannockburn.
All three people are said to be recovering.
A spokesperson for Police Scotland said: “We are aware and enquiries are ongoing.”
Springkerse House is operated by Stirling Council. The council refused to confirm the incidents, saying that it does not comment on the circumstances of individuals receiving support from its services.
The three incidents have led to one SNP councillor calling for an overhaul of the strategic approach to dealing with addiction.
Bannockburn ward councillor Alasdair MacPherson has been involved with the running of a city centre soup kitchen project, set up initially over the festive season by a group of volunteers.
In January this year, the Observer reported how the Stirling Christmas Cheer soup kitchen volunteers were left shaken by the sudden deaths of three people they helped over Christmas.
Councillor MacPherson said: “It’s very clear that existing local and national strategies tackling drug deaths have failed as they continue to rise. I shudder to think what impact lockdown has had on the numbers as the drug deaths data published last year was for 2019.
“I’ve been a councillor for 14 years now, but I’ve learned more about homelessness and addictions in the last four months since volunteering at the soup kitchen. It’s time those in authority started to show far more compassion and care for those who suffer from alcohol and drug addictions.
“These vulnerable people are our fellow human beings and I know from speaking to them that they feel discarded by society, which is a terrible indictment of us all.
“I have concluded that they have been failed by a broken system, which needs urgently reviewed. “
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Stirling Council refused to respond to the councillor’s remarks.
In December last year, the Observer told how Stirling’s drug-related deaths remained at a record high level.
The National Records of Scotland (NRS) statistics revealed that the number of drug-related deaths in Scotland increased by six per cent - from 1187 in 2018 to 1264 in 2019 - the highest number since records began.
In the Stirling Council area, there were 19 drug-related deaths in 2019, the same figure as in 2018. Of the 19 people who died in 2019, 14 were male and five females. In 2009, Stirling recorded nine deaths.
In the neighbouring Clackmannanshire Council area, there were 15 deaths, an increase of five from the previous year. Six of last year’s deaths were of men, with nine women.
In April 2019, the Observer reported how six men had died – thought to be linked to lethal street drugs.
