Scottish Government MAPPA annual overview report 2016

9.0 Health

Restricted patients have been subject to MAPPA since 2008. The Care Programme Approach ( CPA) for restricted patients and MAPPA have a common purpose of maximising public safety and the reduction of serious harm. The underlying principle is the gathering and sharing of information between agencies in relation to risk. The CPA focuses on care and treatment likely to minimise the risk posed, whilst MAPPA focuses on the multi-agency management of risk.

In 2012 the Scottish Government funded expansion of the Serious Offenders Liaison Service ( SOLS) in Lothian and Borders to provide input for violent offenders as well as sexual offenders. The service was funded to test a model of integrated working with criminal justice agencies to provide specialist input to support front-line staff with their most difficult cases and deliver better outcomes.

The Scottish Government continued to fund the expanded service to March 2015 to allow local partners to identify and secure sustainable longer-term funding for the service. This funding was not able to be secured. A smaller service funded by NHS Lothian now offers clinical input to support Police and Criminal Justice Social Work to better manage sexual and violent offenders in Lothian.

The SOLS service model was considered a successful proof of concept test and Scottish Government encouraged local services to learn from the model and the successful elements and outcomes it achieved in planning and delivering services in their own areas.

The Forensic Mental Health Services Managed Care Network supports the MAPPA Clinical Forum of which the four objectives are Networking, Education, Operations and Policy. The forum provides a vehicle for services to consider areas within MAPPA Health that might require guidance and a shared approach as well as providing the opportunity to network and share good practice.

The inclusion of restricted patients under the MAPPA has led to better multiagency management of the risk posed by such patients. Having restricted patients under the MAPPA has had the additional benefit of enhanced multi-agency working in relation to non-restricted mentally disordered offenders as well as Health's general duty to co-operate. The general consensus from health service professionals and those from other agencies is that the MAPPA process works well for restricted patients and has brought benefits to multi-agency working.