Public Audit Committee
Adult mental health
Background
On 13 September 2023, the Auditor General for Scotland and the Accounts Commission published Adult mental health.
The report says:
"The Scottish Government does not have sufficient oversight of most adult mental health services because of a lack of information. It does not measure the quality of care or the outcomes for people receiving it. The Scottish Government focuses on only waiting times for psychological therapies to assess how adult mental health and wellbeing services are performing. Performance against this measure has improved, but NHS boards are still struggling to meet waiting times standards. The system is fragmented, and accountability is complex, with multiple bodies involved in funding and providing mental health services. This causes complications and delays in developing services that focus on individuals’ needs".
Read the report on Audit Scotland's website.
Information about the Public Audit Committee's consideration of the report can be found below.
Meetings
28 September 2023
The Committee took evidence from:
Stephen Boyle, the Auditor General for Scotland; Leigh Johnston, Senior Manager; Eva Thomas-Tudo, Audit Manager, Audit Scotland; and Christine Lester, Members, Accounts Commission.
Read the agenda and meeting papers, 28 September 2023
Read the Official Report, 28 September 2023
Read the meeting minutes, 28 September 2023
Decision: The Committee agreed its approach to future scrutiny of the report.
9 November 2023
The Committee took evidence in a roundtable format from:
Jo Anderson, Director of Influence and Change, Scottish Association for Mental Health; Paula Fraser, Acting Manager, Voices of Experience Scotland; Peter Kelly, Director, The Poverty Alliance; Dr Shari McDaid, Head of Policy and Public Affairs (Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland) Mental Health Foundation; Simon Porter, Project Director, Royal Edinburgh Hospital Patients Council (representing Voices of Experience Scotland); Miriem Timizar, Project Co-ordinator, International Women's Group (representing BEMIS); and Kirsten Urquhart, Chief Executive, Young Scot.
Read the agenda and meeting papers, 9 November 2023.
Read the Official Report, 9 November 2023
Read the meeting minutes, 9 November 2023
16 November 2023
The Committee took evidence in a roundtable format from:
Mike Burns, Chief Executive, Penumbra Mental Health; Derek Frew, Temporary Chief Superintendent, Head of Partnerships, Prevention and Community Wellbeing, Police Scotland; Stephen Low, Policy Officer, UNISON; Christiana Melam, Chief Executive Officer, National Association of Link Workers; Anne Rowan, Founder, Chris's House; Dr Pavan Srireddy, Vice Chair, Royal College of Psychiatrists in Scotland; and Dr Chris Williams, Deputy Chair, Royal College of General Practitioners Scotland.
Read the agenda and meeting papers, 16 November 2023
Read the Official Report, 16 November 2023
Read the meeting minutes, 16 November 2023
23 November 2023
The Committee took evidence in a roundtable format from:
Hannah Axon, Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA); Simon Burt, General Manager, Mental Health and Learning Disability Services, Scottish Borders Health and Social Care Partnership; Pamela Cremin, Chief Officer, Highland Health and Social Care; Fiona Davies, Chief Officer, Argyll and Bute Integration Joint Board (also representing the Health and Social Care Scotland Chief Officer network); Richmond Davies, Head of Public Health Analytics and Intelligence, Public Health Scotland; Jillian Galloway, Acting Chief Officer, Angus Health and Social Care Partnership; Jo Gibson, Head of Wellbeing and Recovery, East Ayrshire Health and Social Care Partnership; and Tracey McKigen, Services Director, Royal Edinburgh and Associated Services, NHS Lothian.
Followed by:
Stephen Boyle, the Auditor General for Scotland; Mark MacPherson, Audit Director, and Eva Thomas-Tudo, Audit manager, Audit Scotland.
Read the agenda and meeting papers, 23 November 2023
Read the Official Report, 23 November 2023
Read the meeting minutes, 23 November 2023
14 December 2023
The Committee took evidence from:
Caroline Lamb, Chief Executive of NHS Scotland and Director-General for Health and Social Care; Gavin Gray, Deputy Director , Improving Mental Health Services; and Dr Alastair Cook, Principal Medical Officer, Mental Health Division, Scottish Government.
Followed by:
Stephen Boyle, the Auditor General for Scotland; Leigh Johnston, Senior Manager; and Eva Thomas-Tudo, Audit Manager, Audit Scotland.
Read the agenda and meeting papers, 14 December 2023
Read the Official Report, 14 December 2023
Read the meeting minutes, 14 December 2023