Primary care services - mental health and wellbeing: resources

Appendix 3: Briefing Paper – NHS Education for Scotland and Public Health Scotland

Supporting the Learning Needs of the Scottish Workforce: Mental Health, Self-Harm and Suicide Prevention

Purpose

This briefing provides a summary of the resources available to support the learning needs around mental health, self-harm and suicide prevention of the Scottish workforce. It is aimed at commissioners, learning and development leads, workforce planners as well as individual staff who are working in all sectors in Scotland.

Background

This briefing paper provides information on digital resources that have been developed in collaboration by Public Health Scotland and National Education for Scotland (NES) and in partnership with local areas and those with lived experience. These free digital resources are already being used across Scotland and continued interest from a wide range of agencies and individuals.

The learning resources outlined below provide an opportunity for those individuals who have previously attended training such as Scotland’s Mental Health First Aid (SMHFA); SMHFA YP (young persons); ASIST and safeTALK programmes to refresh their knowledge on mental health and suicide prevention as well as expanding their knowledge around self-harm.

However, we recognise that some areas/groups might require further support to look at the needs of their workforce and how these resources could aid their learning and development needs – for example:

• Through practical support to consider how current learning needs could be complemented with the range of digital resources available;
• Working through a supportive tool to consider how supported learning can enhance/change practice;
• Testing out the resources and/or facilitation sessions in a multi-agency or cross agency setting that are relevant for your own area/service, and;
• Sharing examples of service experiences that can be included as case examples.

The digital resources developed so far cover two levels: Informed and Skilled.

Informed Level - Target Audiences

The essential knowledge and skills required by everyone, in any workplace, workforce or community who has the opportunity and ability to positively impact on their own and other’s mental health and wellbeing and contribute to supporting people experiencing mental ill health and preventing self-harm or suicide.

Skilled - Target Audiences

The knowledge and skills required by ‘non-specialist’ frontline staff working in health, social care and wider public and other services, who are likely to have direct and/or substantial contact with people who may be at risk of mental ill health, self-harm or suicide.

Informed Level Resources

Ask, Tell Animations - Adult

Three educational animations which inform individuals working with adults about mental health, how to maintain this; the factors that can lead to mental distress or mental ill health; how to have compassionate conversations which sets out how to support people who are experiencing mental distress or may be feeling suicidal and help them seek help.

Timing: Each animation is around 5 minutes. Although these can be viewed on their own, it would be recommended that these are viewed as part of a wider learning activity. (See ELearning Module)

Access: Ask, Tell, Look After Your Mental Health. Understanding mental health and keeping mentally healthy (open access: https://vimeo.com/338176495)

Ask, Tell, Have a Healthy Conversation supporting compassionate conversations with people who may be experiencing mental ill-health or distress or at risk of suicide (open access: https://vimeo.com/338176444)

Ask, Tell, Save a Life: Every Life Matters suicide prevention and keeping people safe (open access: https://vimeo.com/338176393)

ELearning module

A standalone e-learning module which combines the three animations with ‘check your learning’ multiple choice questions at the end of each animation.

Timing: This will differ for each individual dependent upon current knowledge and learning needs. The eLearning module can be completed in as short as one hour. Access: https://learn.nes.nhs.scot/17262

Facilitated Workshop option

A facilitation pack is available to support the delivery of informed level workshops and support local delivery via a digital platform. This provides the opportunity to deliver each of the animations in a structured interactive session, providing the opportunity to explore issues further. This option is available for those facilitators who have knowledge and experience within mental health and/or suicide prevention.

Timing: Each of the facilitated sessions have been developed as 1-hour sessions. (Three in total)

Access: https://learn.nes.nhs.scot/35565

Promoting Children and Young People’s Mental Health and preventing Self-Harm and Suicide Animations

Three educational animations support learning about mental health, self-harm and suicide prevention specifically for the wider Children and Young People’s workforce. These animations support individuals to understand the factors that influence mental health and resilience in children and young people; engage proactively with children and young people about mental health, self-harm and suicide; and recognise when to seek help to support those in their care.

ELearning module

A standalone e-learning module which combines the three animations with ‘check your learning’ multiple choice questions at the end of each animation.

Timing: This will differ for each individual dependent upon current knowledge and learning needs. The eLearning module can be completed in as short as one hour. Access: https://learn.nes.nhs.scot/55471

Facilitated Workshop option

A facilitation pack will be available to support the delivery of workshops and support local delivery via a digital platform.

This provides the opportunity to deliver each of the animations in a structured interactive session, providing the opportunity to explore issues further, either as a team and/or across different sectors. This option is available for facilitators who have knowledge and expertise within mental health and/or suicide prevention. Access: https://learn.nes.nhs.scot/35565

Supporting a mentally healthy workplace: a guide for managers

A presentation is available for managers, team leads and people in similar roles. It is designed to help you to be better able to support the mental health of employees and to encourage good practice in promoting positive mental health and wellbeing in the workplace: Access: https://learn.nes.nhs.scot/46641

Skilled Level Resources

Five Learning Bytes which cover topics such as inequalities, stigma, and the wider factors and life experiences that impact on people’s mental health such as employment, housing, relationships, physical health, substance use and trauma. These Learning Bytes include a range of case studies that help build knowledge and skills on the following areas:

Learning Byte 1: Promoting Mental Health and Tackling Inequalities. Includes understanding what mental health is, features of positive mental health, determinants of mental health, trauma and inequalities that can lead to mental ill health, what works to improve mental health and how you can apply this knowledge in your own workplace.

Access: https://learn.nes.nhs.scot/37027

Learning Byte 2: Supporting People in Distress and Crisis. Includes understanding distress, crisis and related risk or protective factors, recognising when someone may be experiencing distress or crisis, providing a compassionate and helpful response, supporting self-help and problem-solving and knowing how and when to access more urgent support for someone. Access: https://learn.nes.nhs.scot/38199

Learning Byte 3: Supporting People at Risk of Suicide. Includes the factors that may lead people to think about suicide, working with people to assess their risk of suicide, conversations that enable people to talk about their thoughts of suicide, when to seek emergency support and intervention for people at risk of suicide, practical and emotional approaches to supporting people at risk of suicide. Part B includes additional information about children and young people who may be at risk of suicide. Access: https://learn.nes.nhs.scot/41022

Learning Byte 4: Supporting People at Risk of Self-Harm. Includes the different reasons why people self-harm, understanding self-harm as communication of distress, some common misconceptions surrounding self-harm, impact of thoughts, feelings and emotions on self-harm, adopting a sensitive, compassionate and non-judgemental approach when talking about self-harm, risk and protective factors associated with self-harm, ways you can positively respond to and talk about self-harm. Access: https://learn.nes.nhs.scot/39315

Learning Byte 5: Supporting Recovery and Quality of Life for People Living with Mental Ill Health.

Includes understanding the concept of recovery and how to work in a way that promotes this, supporting people to engage with wider community resources that promote social and peer support, meaningful purpose and positive relationships, understanding the physical health problems and barriers to treatment and lifestyle change that can be experienced by people living with mental ill health, recognising the impact of stigma and discrimination on mental health recovery, and promoting inclusion, health and quality of life.

Access: https://learn.nes.nhs.scot/38200

The learning bytes are designed to be used flexibly by individuals, teams, organisations to meet local learning and development needs and priorities. Each of the learning bytes can take an individual around 3-4 hours dependant on current knowledge of topics. Times may vary if working through the learning bytes as part of a team or group.

For further information on these resources or to explore ways to be more involved, please contact:

The PHS/NES Team

Email: Psychology@nes.scot.nhs.uk

Resources for Mental Health and Wellbeing in Primary Care Services