Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy: Initial Monitoring Report and Monitoring Framework
The first monitoring report outlining progress towards Scotland’s Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy outcomes, supported by an accompanying monitoring framework.
Introduction
In June 2023, the Scottish Government and the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) published their joint Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy.
The vision set out by the strategy is for: ‘a Scotland, free from stigma and inequality, where everyone fulfils their right to achieve the best mental health and wellbeing possible’.
The Strategy is grounded in understanding mental health and wellbeing through the lens of social factors that affect people's lives. These factors can lead to some individuals and communities facing greater challenges to their mental health than others. As a result, the Strategy places strong emphasis on prevention and early intervention. It also focuses on improving services, building capacity, and strengthening the workforce to help reduce these unequal impacts.
Outcomes Framework
The Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy is supported by an outcomes framework. The outcomes framework outlines the differences or changes that the Scottish Government wants to see as a result of the Strategy.
The outcomes framework contains 34 sequenced outcomes, structured as:
- 13 short-term outcomes (1–3 years)
- 9 medium-term outcomes (3–5 years)
- 12 long-term outcomes (5 years and beyond)
While these outcomes are intended to be for the whole population of Scotland, the strategy recognises that people will have different starting points and require different kinds of support to get them where they want to be. For example, the needs of children and young people will differ from those of adults. So, too, will the needs of someone with severe and enduring mental illness when compared to someone struggling with their mental wellbeing. The needs of those who experience social and structural inequality and discrimination, such as those with protected characteristics, will also vary.
The outcomes aspire to make changes across a broad range of areas, including changes at individual, community, and population levels; improvements in services and support; societal influences; and the use of data and evidence.
To reflect the range of areas the Strategy seeks to improve, nine high-level summary outcomes were created to communicate the detail and intentions of the published Outcomes Framework. The summary outcomes were co-produced through a series of workshops with a diverse range of key stakeholders and people with lived experience. These nine summary outcomes are underpinned by the short, medium, and long-term outcomes of the strategy [1].
The summary outcomes will be the core focus of the Scottish Government's monitoring of the Strategy over time.
Table 1: High-level summary outcomes of the Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy
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Summary Outcome 1 |
The overall mental health and wellbeing of the population is increased, and mental health inequalities are reduced. |
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Summary Outcome 2 |
People with mental health conditions, including those with co-existing health conditions, experience improved quality and length of life, free from stigma and discrimination. |
|
Summary Outcome 3 |
People have an increased knowledge and understanding of mental health and wellbeing and how to access appropriate support. |
|
Summary Outcome 4 |
Communities are better equipped to act as a source of support for people’s mental health and wellbeing, championing the eradication of stigma and discrimination and providing a range of opportunities to connect with others. |
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Summary Outcome 5 |
We adopt a ‘mental health and wellbeing in all policies’ approach to facilitate cross-policy actions that more effectively address the wide-ranging social, economic and environmental factors that impact people’s mental health and wellbeing, including poverty, stigma, discrimination, and injustice. |
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Summary Outcome 6 |
Comprehensive support and services that promote and support people’s mental health and wellbeing are available in a timely way that meets and respects individual needs. |
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Summary Outcome 7 |
Mental health policies, support, care, and treatment are better informed and shaped by people with lived experience of mental health issues and staff practitioners, with a focus on high quality provision that is recovery orientated. |
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Summary Outcome 8 |
Decision-makers and practitioners (including the third sector) are better able to access the evidence, research and data they need to ensure a more evidence-based approach to policy formation and practice. |
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Summary Outcome 9 |
The mental health and wellbeing workforce is diverse, skilled, supported, and sustainable. |
Source: Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy, 2023
Official Statistics Publication for Scotland
These statistics are official statistics. Official statistics are statistics that are produced by crown bodies, those acting on behalf of crown bodies, or those specified in statutory orders, as defined in the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007.
Scottish Government statistics are regulated by the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR). OSR sets the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics that all producers of official statistics should adhere to.
More information about Scottish Government statistics is available on the Scottish Government website.
Footnotes
[1] For the purposes of this monitoring work, each outcome in the outcomes framework has been assigned a number. These numbers reflect the order in which the outcomes were presented, and do not indicate priority or importance.