Question reference: S6W-03283
- Asked by: Tess White, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
- Date lodged: 24 September 2021
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Current status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 7 October 2021
Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the statement in the Scottish Social Services Council publication, Mental Health Officers (Scotland) Report 2020, that "the last three years have seen by far the highest number of vacated posts" for Mental Health Officers (MHOs), for what reason this is the case, and what action it is taking with the 23 local authorities that reported a workforce shortfall that would require 53 full-time exclusive MHOs to fill the positions.
Answer
MHOs are critically important as they protect and safeguard the rights of vulnerable people with mental health conditions.
MHO workload pressures have no doubt been exacerbated by the COVID pandemic, but we are aware of a number of issues that are having an impact. These include significant numbers of applications for guardianship orders under Adults with Incapacity legislation, supporting hospital discharges when there is an issue with incapacity, as well as the challenges of working on detention and compulsory treatment orders during the pandemic. MHOs also provide ongoing advice for other professionals, users of services and carers about the use of mental health legislation when planning care and treatment.
While it is the responsibility of local authorities to ensure they have the appropriate levels of MHOs in place, we have been working, with COSLA, local authorities, the Scottish Social Services Council and others since 2019 to improve MHO capacity across Scotland.
We are committed to addressing a shortfall in the MHO workforce by 2023 as part of our wider Integrated Health and Social Care Workforce Plan (2019) and we are investing £1.5 million over 2019-2022 to support Local Authorities and Health and Social Care Partnerships in training additional MHOs. Additionally, we are currently evaluating with COSLA options to support new MHO posts and decisions will be made in due course.