Parity of Esteem for Mental Health in NHS Reform

That the Parliament welcomes the publication of Mental Health at the Fault Line, produced by the Royal College of Psychiatrists in Scotland, which draws on the experience of psychiatrists working across Scotland’s secondary and specialist mental health services and sets out the lessons learned from over a decade of health and social care integration; notes the report’s findings that current arrangements have often resulted in fragmented decision-making, unclear accountability, reduced transparency in mental health funding, duplication of governance structures and insufficient clinical involvement in key decisions affecting mental health services; recognises the concern expressed in the report that mental health services have been disproportionately affected by organisational complexity and that the separation of responsibility, authority and resources can create risks for patient safety, service quality and workforce sustainability; notes the proposed principles for NHS reform set out in the report, including that accountability and authority should sit together, expert clinical input should be present wherever decisions are made, funding should be transparent and traceable, reform should reduce inequalities and support a sustainable workforce and governance should be designed around patient pathways; believes that the ongoing programme of NHS reform presents an important opportunity to address these longstanding concerns; agrees that mental health must be given genuine parity of esteem alongside physical health throughout the design, governance, planning, performance management and delivery of NHS reform; recognises that there can be no health without mental health, and calls on the Scottish Government to ensure that mental health has equal visibility, influence, priority and representation within all future NHS reform proposals and structures.