Mental Health and Substance Use Programme

We work with partners within NHS Tayside, NHS Grampian, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, NHS Lothian and NHS Lanarkshire to redesign care pathways to improve quality of care and health outcomes for people with mental health and substance use support needs.

Studies have shown there are clear links between mental health and substance use. People with these support needs often have a difficult experience being referred to, and accessing, appropriate support. Different localities within Scotland have different approaches to supporting people who have a mental health and substance use support needs. At present, there is no clarity about best evidenced treatments or pathways. Instead, there is a myriad of initiatives and innovations with varying levels of integration across different areas of Scotland. This lack of parity within an area of such complexity means that there is a range of experiences for people with mental health and substance use support needs.

Action 27 within the Mental Health Strategy for Scotland, 2017- 2027 is focused on the need to test and learn from better assessment and referral arrangements in a range of settings for people with mental health and substance use support needs. This aspect of change is vital in terms of increasing opportunities for people with mental health and substance use support needs to be able to access support.

Action 28 refers to creating opportunities to pilot improved arrangements for people with substance use and mental health support needs. This is part of the rationale and focus for this proposal.

In addition, statistics have shown Scotland has a higher number of drug related deaths compared to other UK and European countries. This has been of increasing concern and is currently of key significance within policy at Scottish Government.

The programme aims to deliver improvements that:

• Improve quality of care
• Improve access to treatment
• And improve overall health outcomes for people with mental health and substance use support needs.

Improving Our Response to People with Mental Health and Substance Use Support Needs in Scotland

We work in partnership with NHS Tayside, NHS Grampian, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, NHS Lanarkshire and NHS Lothian to achieve the following objectives:

• System understanding – to understand the current state, and the user and service needs that can be better met by service redesign and improvement.
• System redesign – to work with up to five areas to develop and implement an integrated approach to delivering mental health and substance use services (building on lessons from the COVID-19 response).
• Co-design and co-production – to increase opportunities for people with living and lived experience, communities and partners from across the system to be engaged in planning, design and delivery of integrated mental health and substance use services.
• Learning system – to identify, share and spread good practice, innovation and learning about “what works” Scotland-wide to drive improvement and change in developing and delivering integrated mental health and substance use services (including informing policy development). This will build on the learning from the Integrated Mental Health and Substance Use Pathfinder and establishment of a national network to share ideas and learning.