CrossReach drugs and alcohol care expansion set to ‘save and rebuild lives’ as new £2.4 million centre opens to counter Scotland’s substance abuse emergency

A £2.4 million investment in a drug and alcohol care centre in Inverness will “save and rebuild lives” amid Scotland’s substance abuse emergency.

That is the view of Vic Dickenson, CEO of the charity CrossReach, who yesterday welcomed drugs and alcohol policy minister Maree Todd to the official opening of the transformed residential rehabilitation unit.

The minister met staff and volunteers during a walkabout tour of the new Nevis House building, beside the existing 2002-opened Beechwood House facility.

It is part of a total £100 million Scottish Government investment to increase residential rehabilitation capacity around the country as part of its ‘national mission on drug deaths’.

From that, Nevis House benefitted directly from £38 million made available to eight projects around the country.

It adds six extra beds to Beechwood’s existing 14, equating to up to 22 placements a year.

The focus will be on helping more people from remoter parts of the Highlands, the Western Isles and Northern Isles to recover from drug and alcohol abuse.

Crucially, the expanded capacity should cut waiting times for care, with some addicts currently enduring six or more months on the waiting list.

Reducing delays in treatment can greatly enhance the prospects of a patient’s recovery.

CrossReach CEO Viv Dickenson said: “Greater capacity in our residential recovery services (enables) a quicker response when people come forward for help.

“We know from people with lived experience of our services that coming into residential rehabilitation is the next step on that all important journey of recovery, and sustained abstinence.

“This investment will not only save lives, it will give people who have struggled with substance use issues a chance to rebuild their lives and look forward to the future with hope.

“We are delighted that Nevis House has now opened in Inverness and are grateful to the Scottish Government for the investment and support from Alcohol and Drug Partnerships in Highland, Western Isles, Orkney and Shetland, that has made this possible.”

At the official opening, Ms Todd, said: “The second round of the Scottish Government’s residential rehabilitation rapid capacity programme was designed with the aim of supporting the development of residential rehab services outside the Central Belt.

“I’m very pleased to see that this has been achieved with this project.

“Expanding residential rehab capacity is central to our national mission on drugs and I’m grateful to all those who have worked hard to provide this additional service.

“Latest published data suggests we are making good progress towards meeting our 1000 placement target by 2026, with a recent publication showing that in 2024/25 statutory funding was approved for 913 residential rehabilitation placements.

“We are also providing record levels of funding for drug and alcohol programmes, and widening access to treatment, and life-saving naloxone as well as residential rehabilitation.”

According to the most recent Public Health Scotland report, published in July 2025, there were a total of 42 residential rehabilitation placements approved for statutory funding for Highland in 2024/25.

Scottish Government residential rehabilitation bed capacity in Scotland statistics showed that there was a rise in residential rehabilitation bed capacity from an estimated 425 beds in 2021 to a maximum of 513 in 2024 – an increase of 21 per cent

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