Victim Notification Scheme (VNS): independent review

Section 21: The Mental Health Tribunal for Scotland

The MHTS has had a designated victim liaison officer since 2017. Numbers are low and the workload represents about 10% of an FTE. We were told there are close links with the Scottish Government Mental Health Directorate and relationships are good. We have been informed MHTS are in active contact with 50 persons in connection with 27 patients.

There is a requirement for a review at the two-year stage or sometimes earlier in the CORO process, as it is essentially indefinite. An application for a hearing will trigger a check. If a VNS registration is identified, contact with the victim or family will be made. Initially, a stock letter is sent which contains information and sets outs the possible outcomes. The victim will be asked if they wish to make representations and a period of two weeks is given for that. The victim may attend a separate hearing at which the patient's solicitor may be present, but the patient is not. The patient however has a right to see the written representations.

Eligibility for notification is the same as the Criminal Justice VNS table. It is checked by the Scottish Government team.

Whilst there is a formal complaints process for the MHTS, there is no regular feedback process in place, other than ad hoc.

We were told that the Directorate deals with around 5 new Compulsion Order and Restriction Orders (CORO) each year.