Human Rights Impact Assessment (HRIA): Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy, Delivery Plan and Workforce Action Plan

Introduction

Purpose of Assessment

The purpose of this report is to present and assess any potential human rights issues arising as a result of the Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy which was published on 29 June 2023. This assessment also covers the Delivery Plan and Workforce Action Plan which were published on the 7^th November 2023.

Policy Aims of the Strategy:

• Our vision is of a Scotland, free from stigma and inequality, where everyone fulfils their right to achieve the best mental health and wellbeing possible.

Summary outcomes

Our outcomes describe the differences or changes that we want to see as a result of this Strategy. They are:

1 Improved overall mental wellbeing and reduced inequalities.

2 Improved quality of life for people with mental health conditions, free from stigma and discrimination.

3 Improved knowledge and understanding of mental health and wellbeing and how to access appropriate support.

4 Better equipped communities to support people's mental health and wellbeing and provide opportunities to connect with others.

5 More effective cross-policy action to address the wide-ranging factors that impact people's mental health and wellbeing.

6 Increased availability of timely, effective support, care and treatment that promote and support people's mental health and wellbeing, meeting individual needs.

7 Better informed policy, support, care and treatment, shaped by people with lived experience and practitioners, with a focus on quality and recovery.

8 Better access to and use of evidence and data in policy and practice.

9 A diverse, skilled, supported, and sustainable workforce across all sectors.

Key areas of focus

To achieve these outcomes, we will:

Promote positive mental health and wellbeing for the whole population, improving understanding and tackling stigma, inequality and discrimination.

Prevent mental health issues occurring or escalating and tackle underlying causes, adversities, and inequalities wherever possible; and

Provide mental health and wellbeing support and care, ensuring people and communities can access the right information, skills, services, and opportunities in the right place at the right time, using a person-centred approach.

We seek to have a stronger emphasis and focus on promoting good mental health and wellbeing for all and on early intervention and prevention. We will do this while ensuring high-quality services are in place so people can access the right support at the right time to meet their needs.

We have published a Delivery Plan to complement this Strategy. The Plan will be refreshed regularly and lays out the actions we will take to achieve our vision and make progress towards our outcomes. The actions have been developed in partnership with those with operational responsibilities and those with lived experience. They focus on meeting the outcomes, responding to the priorities in this document, and take account of Scottish Government's recently published 'Policy Prospectus' and the COSLA plan 2022-2027.

Delivering the Strategy and its associated actions can only be achieved with the right workforce, supported to have the right skills, in the right place at the right time. The Workforce Action Plan sets out how Scottish Government and the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) will progress a range of workforce specific activity to address key workforce issues that have been raised in consultation with delivery partners.

The previous Mental Health Strategy was published in 2017 and was to span 10 years to 2027. Much has changed since 2017 and we recognised that people’s attitudes towards mental health have shifted. It was the right time to take stock of our current system and policies and reset our priorities to better fit this new landscape. We recognise that underlying factors, inequalities and types of disadvantage affect certain groups of people who may suffer disproportionate impacts on their mental health. We must learn from evolving evidence about intersectionality by recognising that people are multi-faceted and that different experiences or aspects of their identity can interact and combine to affect their mental health in ways that are not the case for everyone. Mental health needs to be tackled across government. That is why our Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy was created with equalities and human rights at its core.

Substantial engagement was carried out in developing the Strategy and plans. This includes engaging with people with lived experience and the Mental Health Equalities and Human Rights Forum (MHEHRF). This was key to developing a Strategy which would try to deliver highly effective and well-functioning mental health system – with the right support available, in the right place, at the right time, whenever anyone asks for help. We made human rights explicit throughout the Strategy, Delivery Plan and Workforce Plan to demonstrate our intent to promote and help uphold rights across mental health services.