Question reference: S6W-13743
- Asked by: Joe FitzPatrick, MSP for Dundee City West, Scottish National Party
- Date lodged: 10 January 2023
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Current status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Kevin Stewart on 11 January 2023
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what progress has been made by the Independent Oversight and Assurance Group on Tayside’s Mental Health Services on ensuring that partners across Tayside are making improvements to the delivery of mental health services, and that progress has been made on responding to the findings and recommendations in the report, Trust and Respect, published in February 2020.
Answer
The Final Report from the Oversight Group has been published today on the Scottish Government website: https://www.gov.scot/isbn/9781805254362
Overall, the report is positive. It highlights where progress has clearly been made but also states a number of areas where further work is required.
The Scottish Government will continue to support sustainable change and improvements in Tayside, to ensure the safe and effective delivery of mental health services. We will work with partners in Tayside to ensure a detailed improvement plan is in place, with clear milestones and deliverables which progress the key areas for action detailed within the Oversight Group’s Final Report.
We will measure progress against agreed key deliverables in this plan, working closely with NHS Tayside, Local Authorities, Integration Joint Boards, the Chief Officer for Mental Health and other Chief Officers in Tayside. These arrangements will inform whether NHS Tayside can be deescalated from Level 3 to Level 2 for Mental Health Services in the future.
The Scottish Government will provide additional support to colleagues across Tayside, including access to advice and support from Professional Advisors and Senior Officials in the Mental Health Directorate to support progress.
I would like to thank the Oversight Group for the meticulous approach to this work. I have particularly welcomed the wide engagement the Chair and Members have had with staff and people with experience of using mental health services across Tayside, which has been a critical aspect in the successful delivery of this very challenging, but extremely important, programme of work.