Parliamentary Questions
Mental Health
March 2010
Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many children and adolescents have been admitted to adult mental health beds in each year since 2007.
Shona Robison: The highest number of these admissions are of young males aged 15 and over where admissions to adult wards are usually for short periods at times of crisis where there are concerns about the safety of the person. In some cases it will also be the case that admission to an adult facility is judged by clinicians to be the most appropriate setting for the young person, taking account of their needs and safety and the safety of others. The small increase in 2008 is also likely to be in part as a result of the closure of the inpatient facility for young people in Gartnavel Royal Hospital and the opening of the new facility in Skye House as for a transition period admissions were redirected to adult facilities. We expect to see improvement in 2009-10 figures.
2006-07 |
186 |
2007-08 |
142 |
2008-09 |
149 |
We are also working closely with NHS boards to ensure that where a young person is admitted to an adult ward their care is specifically tailored to their needs.
Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what is being done to increase access to counselling and psychotherapy services for primary and secondary school pupils.
Adam Ingram: It is for local authorities and NHS boards to design and determine the level of services provided to meet the needs of children and young people who require access to counselling and psychotherapy services, based on local priorities and clinical need.
The Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004, requires education authorities to identify, meet and keep under review the additional support needs of all children for whose education they are responsible, including those with behavioural, social, emotional or mental health difficulties. Appropriate agencies, which includes NHS boards, are required to assist an education authority in the exercise of any of its functions under the act.
As part of our commitment to implementing The Mental Health of Children and Young People: A Framework for Promotion, Prevention and Care by 2015, NHS boards are required to work in partnership with local authorities, schools and the voluntary sector. As part of this function, NHS boards are making available a named health link contact to every school to ensure support and links are in place to child and adolescent mental health services - both voluntary and statutory.
To address the recognised shortfall in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAHMS) workforce we are investing an additional £5.5 million more per year by 2011-12. This will increase the number of psychologists working in specialist CAMHS as well as support our new waiting time target for specialist CAMHS which means that by March 2013 no one will wait longer than 26 weeks from referral to treatment.
February 2010
Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to increase access to NHS counselling and psychotherapy services.
Shona Robison: We are working closely with NHS Education for Scotland (NES) and NHS boards to expand and increase access to psychological therapies for all ages in a range of settings.
We have already established a Psychological Therapies Group (PTG) to administer the implementation of the advice in The Matrix - a tool for NHS boards to use in reviewing available evidence and in considering which psychological interventions might best be used to meet local need and demand. Recently formed sub-groups of the PTG oversee The Matrix’s continuous updating and expansion into other key priority areas in mental health.
NES is working to increase the provision of training in evidence based interventions which are effective for depression (at both certificate and diploma level) such as CBT and other therapies, as well as funding Psychological Therapies Training Co-ordinator posts in boards to provide the educational infrastructure necessary to ensure training and supervision are well organised, sustainable and have maximum service impact.
We are committed to developing a HEAT target for access to psychological therapies for announcement in 2011-12.
Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment it has made of the increased need for NHS counselling and psychotherapy services.
Shona Robison: We have a specific commitment to expand and improve access to psychological therapies for all ages. We are working closely with our partners in NHS Education for Scotland (NES) and NHS boards to deliver this commitment and meet patient’s needs better and sooner. Part of our strategy involves enhancing capacity within the service, and training current NHS staff to deliver a range of evidence based interventions.
We are committed to developing a HEAT target for access to psychological therapies over this year for announcement in 2011-12.
Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the average waiting times are for patients seeking access to NHS counselling and psychotherapy services.
Shona Robison: This information is not collected centrally. This Scottish Government is committed to developing a referral to treatment target for psychological therapies, and as part of that work is developing information systems to track waiting times for those therapies that may be covered by the target.
November 2009
Jackson Carlaw (West of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people were on waiting lists and what the waiting times were for child and adolescent mental health services in each year since 1999, also broken down by NHS board.
Nicola Sturgeon: Historically this information was not recorded centrally, but we are currently working with NHS boards to put in place by April 2010 a referral to treatment waiting time target for specialist child and adolescent mental health services.
This waiting time target means that by March 2013 no one will wait longer than 26 weeks from referral to treatment for specialist child and adolescent mental health services.
The work with NHS boards includes ensuring that appropriate systems are in place to properly monitor their performance. Data definitions and systems will be piloted from January to March next year to give a final baseline for setting the trajectories to be achieved from April 2010.
March 2009
Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will develop a national mental health service for deaf people and, if so, what the timescale will be for achieving a service agreement to that effect.
Shona Robison: Mental health services for those with sensory loss continue to develop and improve. For example, a new dedicated community service and a deaf counselling service are now operational and have been well received by service users in Lothian. National access to specialist in-patient services when needed is long established through referrals to the John Denmark Unit in Manchester with attention to transitions a feature of the care pathway. We are examining with partners the merits of a Scotland-based in-patient facility and how to further improve regional specialist community services.
November 2008
Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what is being done to incre.0ase access to supported employment for people who have had mental health problems.
Shona Robison: The Scottish Government, in partnership with COSLA, is developing a Framework for Supported Employment to provide support to people with disabilities to secure and maintain paid employment in the open labour market. The framework will concentrate on supporting individuals who have a learning or physical disability and those with mental health conditions. A task group has been established to oversee the development of the framework. It includes stakeholders from the Scottish Union of Supported Employment, Jobcentre Plus, DWP, Skills Development Scotland, Scottish Association of Mental Health and the Scottish Development Centre for Mental Health. It is anticipated the model will be transferable for other client groups.