Independent Review into the Delivery of Forensic Mental Health Services: progress update report 2024

7 Theme Six: Sharing Information and Expertise

7.1 Sharing Information About People Receiving Forensic Mental Health Services

Recomm endation 59. The new Forensic Board should have a single electronic health records system. All staff in forensic mental health services should use the system and the Board should ensure that staff have access to technology of an appropriate quality to support their work.

Recommendation 60. The new Forensic Board’s single electronic health records system should include a facility to clearly record where a person does, and where a person does not, consent to their information being shared with family members and certain partner organisations.

Recommendation 61. The new Forensic Board should develop a procedure for sharing information with external organisations to support consistent practices across forensic mental health services that balance the rights of the individual and the protection of the public.

The Scottish Government is currently progressing with the data recommendations set out in Theme Three: Capacity and Transitions.

Recommendations 59-61 should be considered under the responsibility of any new governance structure and as part of future service delivery planning.

7.2 Provision of Forensic Mental Health Expertise to External Agencies

Recommendation 62 . The new Forensic Board should develop a consistent way of providing consultation and advice to MAPPA and other external individuals or organisations (including other NHS services) that may benefit from access to forensic mental health expertise. The Scottish Government should work with the new Forensic Board to ensure that this consultation and advice service is adequately funded.

Discussions continue to take place on the proposed development of a service model that will be available to justice and health partners requiring this support and will ensure consistency of approach. This will aim to facilitate the provision of advice, support, and signposting to forensic mental health services across the country, such as those being managed within the Prevent Muti-Agency Panel process (PMAP) or under Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA).

To date, work has focused on developing a national picture of the services currently being provided so that existing local arrangements across Health Boards can be considered to inform the development of a nationally consistent approach.

Following this evidence-gathering stage, discussions have been taking place on scenarios for the progression of this work. This included a meeting of key stakeholders in early December 2023, which provided an opportunity to discuss some of the challenges and opportunities for moving this work forward.

The next steps are likely to include continued discussions with relevant stakeholders, and consideration will be given to how best to communicate the outcomes of discussions and progress to all relevant parties.

Recommendation 63. The Scottish Government should bring together the NHS, the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service (SCTS) and the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) to agree an appropriately funded national framework to ensure the timely provision of court reports by psychiatrists and psychologists for assessment and sentencing purposes. This should be actioned within one year of the publication of this report.

Recommendation 64. The Scottish Government, together with the new Forensic Board and the relevant criminal justice agencies, should review the current limitations about which disciplines can complete court reports. They should consider what professional qualifications and training are necessary for the completion of these reports, including whether a change of law is required.

In 2023, the Scottish Government met with representatives from COPFS, SCTS, NHS psychiatry, and NHS psychology to discuss the current issues in providing these reports.

A short-life group was established with representatives from each of these parts of the system to consider the improvements needed to create a more sustainable and effective system for providing court reports. This included consideration of reviewing who can currently complete which reports and the extent to which this can be widened to different disciplines.

The Scottish Government is now looking to agree pragmatic proposals to address the issues identified. Once these are agreed scoping work for how to implement them will commence. This work has continued through 2024.

7.3 Research, Education and Training

Recommendation 65. The new Forensic Board must support the work of the School of Forensic Mental Health to continue developing and progressing education, training and research activities within Scotland’s forensic mental health services.

Recommendation 66. Working with the School for Forensic Mental Health and wider stakeholders, the new Forensic Board should set evidence-based standards for staff skillsets and training, that include best practice in caring for and treating people with a learning disability.

Recommendation 67. The new Forensic Board should work with community providers and partner agencies to develop skilled staff teams who are confident and empowered to provide support, including positive risk taking, to people from forensic mental health services.

The Scottish Government committed to delivering a longer-term workforce plan in the first half of this Parliament, with the aim of ensuring that commitments in the Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy are underpinned by a resilient and sustainable workforce that feels valued and supported to promote better mental health and wellbeing outcomes.

We have worked with stakeholders, including an Advisory Group of partner agencies and third-sector community providers, to develop our strategic approach to workforce planning for mental health and wellbeing. This strategic approach to workforce planning is included in the strategy, which was published in June 2023.

The Mental Health and Wellbeing: Workforce Action Plan 2023-2025 sets out a series of actions to improve how we plan, attract, train, employ, and nurture our mental health and well-being workforce.