Distress Brief Intervention (DBI) programme funding: FOI release

Information requested

All written and electronic reports, correspondence and communications, relating to:

1. Of the £24 million invested since 2016 in the Distress Brief Intervention Programme how much has been allocated to the Scottish Prison Service?

2. Of the 78,000 people helped by the Distress Brief Intervention Programme since 2017, how many of these people have been in the care of the Scottish Prison Service?

Response

The answers to your questions are as follows:

1. Of the £24 million invested since 2016 in the Distress Brief Intervention (DBI) Programme, there was no funding allocated to the Scottish Prison Service.

2. Of the 78,000 people helped by the Distress Brief Intervention (DBI) Programme since 2017, none of these people have been identified as being in the care of the Scottish Prison Service.

Background to the development of the Distress Brief Intervention (DBI) programme

The DBI Programme provides personalised, connected, compassionate support to people over 16 in the community, who present to frontline services in emotional distress but do not require urgent clinical intervention. The model is non-clinical.

The model allows trained front-line staff (within Police Scotland, Scottish Ambulance Service, Primary Care and NHS24) to provide an initial compassionate response and, where the person is assessed as appropriate, refer them for DBI support. The DBI support comprises one-to-one support from an approved, trained third sector partner to help manage their distress, and can also connect them to other appropriate sources of support on specific issues, such as relationships, emotional wellbeing, and life coping issues. The support lasts up to around 2 weeks.

The DBI model was developed by SG following engagement with frontline colleagues including in Police Scotland, SAS and Accident and Emergency staff, who reported that there was a cohort of people presenting to them in distress but with no requirement for emergency clinical intervention, for whom they could not offer a support pathway. The model does not facilitate specialised support in prisons or other settings but rather is focussed around a key support gap for people in the community.

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