Mental health and wellbeing strategy: delivery plan 2023-2025

Priority 7

Ensure people receive the quality of care and treatment required for the time required, supporting care as close to home as possible and promoting independence and recovery.

Outcomes: 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9

Challenges and opportunities:

• Delivering supports and services
• Primary and community care
• Workforce
• Benefits of investing

Key area of focus

We will work collaboratively at local, regional and national levels, to support strategic planning and delivery across the whole system to ensure people receive the care that they need as close to home as possible. Effective local and national oversight, governance, leadership and collaboration across sectors will be central to driving continuous improvement. Trauma, equalities and risk-informed approaches will be essential to identifying and supporting groups who face specific challenges, as well as keeping people safe.

As part of our approach to address inequality across this Delivery Plan, we will work alongside the Equality and Human Rights Forum and people with lived experience to develop, test and learn from a good practice approach to implementation of these actions. This will include how we can direct our resources for maximum impact.

Outcomes

• The overall mental health and wellbeing of the population is increased and mental health inequalities are reduced.
• People with mental health conditions, including those with co-existing health conditions experience improved quality and length of life, free from stigma and discrimination.
• People have an increased knowledge and understanding of mental health and wellbeing and how to access appropriate support.
• Communities are better equipped to act as a source of support for people’s mental health and wellbeing, championing the eradication of stigma and discrimination and providing a range of opportunities to connect with others.
• Comprehensive support and services that promote and support people’s mental health and wellbeing are available in a timely way that meets and respects individual needs.
• Mental health policies, support, care, and treatment are better informed and shaped by people with lived experience of mental health issues and staff practitioners, with a focus on high quality provision that is recovery orientated.
• The mental health and wellbeing workforce is diverse, skilled, supported and sustainable.

Strategic Action 7.1: Answering Audit Scotland’s Adult Mental Health Report and taking account the wider policy landscape and arrangements underway for the National Care Service, Scottish Government, NHS Scotland and COSLA will work with NHS Boards, IJBs, local authorities, and other delivery partners to ensure ongoing improvement of the oversight and governance, planning and delivery of mental health services at local, regional, and national levels. Our approach will reflect the principles of GIRFE and GIRFEC on joined-up preventative care and partnership work so that future service delivery is informed by knowledge of existing provision, unmet demand, and the requirements of remote, rural and Island communities and minority and at-risk groups.

7.1.1 Work collectively with partners, scope work being undertaken within existing regional, and national networks, clarifying their current and potential roles in supporting mental health and wellbeing services planning and delivery, identifying levers to support ongoing improvement in oversight, leadership, and collaboration and utilising learning to inform next steps.

Lead and Key Partners: Scottish Government/COSLA NHS Scotland, local authorities, IJBs, HSCPs, NHS Boards, Community Planning Partnerships (CPPs)

7.1.2 Scottish Government will engage with NHS Boards on their work to deliver the aims set out in the Strategy and the newly published mental health standards. This will ensure all Boards have robust short, medium, and long-term plans in place to improve mental health services as part of the strategic ADP (Annual Delivery Plan) and medium-term planning process with NHS Scotland.

Lead and Key Partners: Scottish Government NHS Boards, NHS Scotland

7.1.3 Scottish Government will establish a national strategic oversight group to support coherence across NHS Boards in the planning and delivery of Mental Health services at national and regional levels. This will align with the work of the National and Regional Short Life Working Group, established in February 2023 to progress recommendations in the NHS Scotland Delivery Plan to develop a single coherent planning framework; improve national and regional planning; and strengthen understanding and the role of networks and associated groups.

Lead and Key Partners: Scottish Government NHS Scotland, NHS Boards

7.1.4 Scottish Government will work with NHS partners, the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) and the National Prisoner Care Network (NPrCN) to improve outcomes for people who have often experienced multiple inequalities. This work will improve access to, and the consistency and profile of, mental healthcare in prisons, and improve governance and oversight of the delivery of healthcare in custody settings, including mental healthcare in prisons.

Lead and Key Partners: Scottish Government NHS Boards, SPS, National Prisoner Care Network

7.1.5 Work with services to improve care for people with co-occurring mental health and substance use difficulties, working towards the full implementation of Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) 9 by March 2025 and delivery of commitments made in response to the Rapid Review into Substance Use and Mental Health Concerns.

Lead and Key Partners: Scottish Government HIS, MAT Standards Implementation Team (MIST), MWC

Strategic Action 7.2: Scottish Government will work with NHS Boards to ensure the mental health built estate enables the delivery of high quality, person centred and safe care. In doing so, we will take into account the findings from Equalities Impact Assessments and other relevant assessments.

7.2.1 Continue Scottish Government’s work with NHS Assure to develop a ‘Once for Scotland’ approach to assessing the in-patient mental health settings for quality, safety, ligature risk and therapeutic environment, including national roll out of Mental Health Estates Tool.

Lead and Key Partners: Scottish Government NHS Assure