Mental health workers: quarterly performance reports

As part of the Mental Health Strategy 2017-2027, we committed to provide funding to support the employment of 800 additional mental health workers to improve access in key settings such as Accident and Emergency departments, GP practices, police station custody suites and prisons. The detail is set out in Action 15 of the Mental Health Strategy.

Action 15

"Increase the workforce to increase access to dedicated mental health professionals in all A&Es, all GP practices, every police station custody suite, and to our prisons. Over the next five years increasing additional investment to £35 million for 800 additional mental health workers in those key settings."

Recruitment performance updates for Action 15 of the Mental Health Strategy which confirms the number of (Whole Time Equivalent) mental health workers recruited, as of 1 April 2022.  

Total recruitment figures by setting and reporting period

Reporting period	Setting					Total WTE
	A&E	Custody Suites	GP Practices	Prisons	Community Settings & Enhanced Pathway*
2018/19 Totals	40.0	3.5	65.5	5.8	70.9	185.6
2019/20 Quarter 1 (2 Apr - 1 July)	11.3	0.3	32.3	6.1	31.0	81.0
2019/20 Quarter 2 (2 July - 1 Oct)	9.2	4.0	20.5	6.6	19.1	59.4
2019/20 Quarter 3 (2 Oct - 1 Jan)	16.5	1.2	6.2	3.0	22.2	49.1
2019/20 Quarter 4 & 2020/21 Quarter 1 (2 Jan - 1 July)	34.1	2.5	37.1	14.3	21.9	109.8
2020/21 Quarters 2 & 3 (2 July - 1 Jan)	15.1	4.7	30.6	5.8	18.0	74.0
2020/21 Quarter 4 & 2021/22 Quarter 1  (2 Jan - 1 July)	3.6	3.6	33.1	4.6	50.6	95.4
2021/22 Quarter 2 (2 Jul – 1 October)	6.6	1.0	24.3	0.5	11.8	44.2
2021/22 Quarter 3 (2 Oct – 1 Jan)	12.9	6.0	14.0	1.1	25.4	59.4
2021/22 Quarter 4 (2 Jan – 1 April)	29.9	8.9	92.6	6.7	63.9	202.0
Total Recruitment  (WTE)	179.2	35.6	356.1	54.4	333.6	958.9**
% of total	19%	4%	37%	6%	35%

* The ‘Community Settings and Enhanced Pathway’ category includes posts which are not located in accident and emergency, GP practices, custody or prisons but are providing services which support activity in these settings, or reducing pressures on these settings. This may involve joint working between statutory services and third sector organisations on specific community based projects.  Posts may include, but are not limited to:

• psychology practitioners 
• mental health nurses
• clinical support workers
• allied health professionals
• community workers
• peer support workers
• link workers
• social work

Services supported by these posts include, but are not limited to:

• community chaplaincy services
• crisis/distress
• community justice
• eating disorders
• Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS)
• forensic mental health
• rehabilitation
• community mental health teams
• wellbeing/prevention of mental ill health projects
• hospital discharge support
• urgent care pathways
• digital mental health services
• drug and alcohol services
• personality disorders
• dementia
• perinatal
• suicide and self-harm

This setting also includes 59.8 posts which support the Enhanced Mental Health Pathway, a collaboration between NHS 24, Police Scotland and the Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS).  This is to improve the care pathway for people experiencing mental illness, distress and poor mental well-being (34 posts in NHS 24, 3 in Police Scotland and 22.8 in SAS).    

** Overall totals have been reduced by one post to account for the historic recording of a post in one area where the successful applicant did not take up employment.

Further information 

• each Integration Authority has provided details of the number of WTE posts recruited to so far under Action 15 and will continue to do so until the end of the 2021-22 financial year at least
• as of 1 April 2022, an additional 958.9 WTE mental health posts were recruited to as a result of Action 15 funding
• this will be the last publication of the Action 15 data.