Table 1 Data sources presented in epidemiological strand of needs assessment

Injecting Equipment Provision (IEP) clients and transactions

Demographic and clinical details, and transaction history, for individuals utilising IEP outlets in the city centre. Based on data from the Neo database, which covers all IEP services across NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde.

Data are limited to clients reporting injecting heroin and/or cocaine, to exclude users of performance- and image-enhancing drugs, who have a different epidemiological profile and set of health needs. Pilot analyses demonstrated that injecting of other drugs (such as novel psychoactive substances) among city centre IEP attendees was negligible. A degree of duplication may exist within the Neo system, with some individuals having registered on more than one occasion. Data are therefore presented separately for clients using any of the seven IEP outlets in the city centre during 2015 those with ≥5 transactions during 2015 (denoted ‘repeat clients’; a proxy for unique users) those with ≥50 transactions during 2015 (denoted ‘high-frequency clients’) Since location of use is not currently recorded in Neo, data are also presented separately for clients accessing IEP via the Assertive Outreach team: this is a service set up to address the needs of public injectors and is therefore the best proxy indicator for public injecting.

Drug-related litter

Reports of drug-related litter made to Glasgow City Council’s Land & Environmental Services (LES) department

These data do not include information on volume of litter (e.g. number of needles) or any clean-ups undertaken on private property by individuals or companies. They also rely on reporting by members of the public. These data are therefore presented to indicate the likely geographical distribution of public injecting but will underestimate its extent.