National Review of Eating Disorder Services Implementation Group: terms of reference

Context

In 2020, the then Minister for Mental Health announced that we would take forward a National Review of Eating Disorder Services, which would build on the work of the Mental Welfare Commission’s report ‘Hope for the future - A report on a series of visits by the Mental Welfare Commission looking at care, treatment and support for people with eating disorders in Scotland’. The purpose for the Review was to provide a full picture of the current system of support that is available for those with an eating disorder, and their families and carers, in Scotland, and provide recommendations for improvements. The National Review published their recommendations in March 2021. Their full report was published in June 2021. 

Following publication of the Review’s recommendations the then Minister for Mental Health agreed that an Implementation Group would be formed to take forward the development and delivery of the recommendations, which is in line with Recommendation 2 from the Review:

Recommendation 2: implementation planning

An Implementation Group should be set up by Scottish Government. This short-term group will be responsible for the implementation of these service review recommendations, planning for and setting the strategic direction, vision and ethos for improvement and service delivery over the next 10 years. This group should report directly to Scottish Government.

Purpose

The Implementation Group has been established to develop, through consultation, the approach for taking forward the recommendations from the National Review of Eating Disorder Services. The aim is to ensure that stakeholders, through collaboration and engagement, are empowered to provide their input, experience and expertise to play a leading role in the delivery of the recommendations. 

Remit

As described by the National Review’s recommendations the Implementation Group will:

• take note of the data generated by the Mental Welfare Commission and the National Review, and use this as the basis for decision making in relation to responding to the National Review’s recommendations
• finalise the costing of the recommendations of this Service Review including the specific manpower needs are once the recommendations of this review are accepted
• develop further and plan for implementation of quality standards of care across Scotland for all levels of treatment for eating disorders, in line with SIGN, MARSIPAN, and Scottish Government's Mental Health Transition and Recovery Plan, GIRFEC and other relevant policy documents
• develop a skills and competency framework, and training strategy in partnership with NHS Education Scotland (NES) and Eating Disorders Education and Training Scotland (EEATS), for all staff, including third sector, who may see or work with people who have eating disorder symptoms or diagnosis
• build a public health strategy for Scotland with Public Health Scotland and other agencies that makes eating disorder prevention everyone's business
• design as a priority a comprehensive plan for systematic data collection and ongoing analysis across Scotland, to address current lack of data. This needs to include planning and funding for appropriate staffing and IT infrastructure to be able to collect, analyse and report the data systematically across Scotland

By the end of the Implementation Group’s lifespan the Group will produce an Implementation Plan that will be presented to the National Eating Disorder Network, as described through Recommendation 3 from the National Review:

Recommendation 3: coordination of national activity and data collection

A National Eating Disorder Network should be established and funded by Scottish Government. This permanent Network will take over from the work of the Implementation Group to support the implementation of the recommendations on an ongoing basis. It will also be responsible for the coordination of national functions including training, national level service development, setting quality standards, and coordinating research and innovation networks for eating disorders.

Relevant stakeholders and advisers will be invited to attend meetings as directed by the agenda. 

Working Groups can be mobilised to support and feed into the work of the Implementation Group to develop responses to the Recommendations from the Review. These might include Groups focused on workforce plans, training or a public health strategy.

A Lived Experience Panel will support the Implementation Group, in response to Recommendation 4 from the Review:

Recommendation 4: lived experienced panel

There should be a lived experience panel set up who will advise the Implementation Group and work alongside the National Eating Disorders Network. The lived experience panel should include patients, families and loved ones, and third sector representatives and there should be diversity in the panel, for example, including all eating disorder diagnoses, men with eating disorders, LGBT representatives and people from ethnic minorities. The panel will advise on all eating disorder national changes.

The Group will meet monthly, with the aim to meet on the last Friday of every month. 

Membership

The Implementation Group is co-chaired by Dennis Robertson and the Clinical Lead Dr Charlotte Oakley. 

The Co-Chairs have responsibility to Chair the monthly Group meetings, which includes:

• conducting the meeting according to the agenda, ensuring that all members are encouraged to provide relevant input throughout the meeting and that any recommendations are adequately resolved and agreed to by the members
• check through the list of action items from the previous meeting
• confirm actions taken and issues resolved and agree on how to progress any actions that are not completed
• ensure that all meetings are kept to time and that group members adhere to the agenda to ensure effective coverage of all items

Members of the Implementation Group are as follows:

• Dr Joy Olver - Consultant Psychiatrist and North of Scotland CAMHS Tier 4 Network Consultant Psychiatrist
• Dr Helen Smith - Royal College of Psychiatrists
• Dr Stephen Anderson - Royal College of Psychiatrists and Review Lead for the National Review of Eating Disorder Services 
• Dr Fiona Duffy - Consultant Clinical Psychologist NHS Lothian and Lecturer at the University of Edinburgh
• Dr Paula Collin - Consultant Clinical Psychologist and Clinical Lead, NHS Tayside
• Dr Fiona Calder - NHS Education for Scotland (NES), Head of CAMHS
• Johnathan MacLennan – NHS Education for Scotland (NES), Head of Mental Health, Learning Disabilities and Dementia
• Dr Lesley Pillans – Associate Specialist in the Eden Unit, NHS Grampian
• Dr Annabel Ross - Representative for The Royal College of GPs 
• Diane Kane - Occupational Therapist, NHS Lanarkshire
• Fiona Huffer - Dietetics Service Lead, NHS Lothian
• Dr Karen McMahon - University Lecturer in Mental Health, West of Scotland
• Mirin Craig - Represents the Mental Health Nursing Forum Scotland, Clinical Nurse Specialist at Connect-ed and Nurse Consultant in Psychological Therapies, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde
• Susan Hynes - North of Scotland Regional Tier 4 Lead Nurse / Network Manager 
• Gerry Donnelly - Tertiary Eating Disorder Specialist Service, NHS Lanarkshire

Members should actively engage with the work of the Group, taking responsibility for and progressing actions, where agreed by the Group.

Members of the Implementation Group will ensure that the work of the Implementation Group is shared within their professional field and networks. They will act as both a voice for the Implementation Group to share its work and progress, but also to feed back the views of their profession. It might be helpful for the Member to establish a national eating disorder network within their profession if it does not already have one. 

Secretariat

The Implementation Group will be supported by Scottish Government Officials who will lead on secretariat and project management for the Group.

Accountability and decision making 

The Group is an independent and time-limited advisory group. It has no executive functions. It will report, through the Chairs, to Scottish Ministers. 

The Group is not established on a statutory basis. It is therefore not subject to the formal public appointments process and the requirements of the Code of Practice for Ministerial Appointments to Public Bodies in Scotland. Members are appointed by the Chairs. 

All members of the Group and those asked to participate in work involving the Group will be asked to declare any conflicts of interest. Any action to be taken on the basis of these declarations will be at the discretion of the Chairs.

Remuneration

The Chairs will be remunerated for their time, in accordance with the Scottish Government Public Sector Pay Policy.  Travel and subsistence will be paid at normal Scottish Government rates where necessary.

Members whose attendance is supported by their employer as part of their paid employment will not receive remuneration.  However, travel and subsistence will be paid at normal Scottish Government rates, unless this is already covered by a Member’s regular working arrangements.

Members whose attendance is not supported by their employer as part of their paid employment, may be remunerated appropriately for their time.  Travel and subsistence will be paid at normal Scottish Government rates.

Communications strategy

A note of each meeting summarising key points and agreed actions will be drafted and circulated around the Group; and subsequently cleared to allow members to update their organisational interests and associated networks. 

Once agreed, the note will be published on the Scottish Government website. 

Lifetime of the group

The Group will run for one year, and will then handover to the Eating Disorder Network to progress further (as described by the National Review’s recommendations). 

August 2021