The first heroin injecting rooms in Scotland could help to tackle a £1.7m bill for accident and emergency services, a health partnership has argued.

The draft business case for proposals for Glasgow compiled the cost of the 350 people in the city centre who inject drugs.

The scheme aims to tackle drug-related deaths, the spread of infections among users and the amount of needles and injecting equipment left in public areas.

Papers due to call before a meeting of the Glasgow Health and Social Care Partnership later this month state the plans are "highly cost effective and contribute to savings" for health services.

Figures collated by the partnership show that between 2014 and 2016, accident and emergency services in the incurred £1.7m in costs while treating the 350 individuals who inject drugs.

The scheme, which is similar to those in more than 60 cities worldwide, was proposed in response to a HIV outbreak in Glasgow since 2015.

According to the partnership, the 78 new HIV patients associated with the outbreak will cost the NHS around £28m over their lifetime.

Susanne Millar, the partnership's chief officer for strategy, said: "The health and social impact on those involved in public injecting leads directly to significant costs for support services.

"The need for a safer consumption facility is about improving the health of those involved in public injecting, providing a route to recovery for a group of people often disengaged from support services and improving the general amenity of Glasgow city centre.

"Our proposals to transform how we support those who publicly inject drugs would help to address a wide range of issues and so relieve considerable pressure on services elsewhere in the system.

"The evidence clearly shows the potential for these proposals to create long-terms savings and so the economics of this issue are also compelling."

The business case stated 99% of those injecting drugs in Glasgow are currently involved with or were previously known to social care services.

Research highlighted in the report states support and treatment for people with complex needs, including drug addiction, cost between £1120 and £3069 per month in terms of health, housing and criminal justice services.

The partnership - made up of councillors, police and health providers - had backed the plans in principle in October and was due to decide on the business case at its meeting on February 15.

Now, the draft report will go before the partnership with the aim of developing the full-business case to be put before the board on June 17.