Mental Health and Wellbeing Delivery Plan: easy read version

Introduction

The Scottish Government and COSLA (The Convention of Scottish Local Authorities) have a new Mental Health and Wellbeing Delivery Plan.

The delivery plan sets out what actions the Scottish Government and COSLA will take to deliver the Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy. The Strategy was published in June 2023.

This Delivery Plan is for the next 3 years.

The plan aims to:

• support mental wellbeing
• support people in the community
• help everyone when they need it

We want everyone to have the best mental health and wellbeing they can.

The plan is to help people have good mental health for all of life. From before being born to old age.

Why we need to change things

The mental health services we have now are not always able to meet the needs of people.

Getting help can sometimes be harder for people who:

• do not have much money
• had difficult things happen in the past
• are treated unfairly because of their age, race, sex, disability or who they love

Depending on where you live in Scotland waiting times and services can be different.

Mental health services are not always well linked with other support services.

What will be better

More help close to home:

• online or by phone
• through local groups and mental health hubs
• support where you work or study
• in health care services like GPs
• people who need a lot of support can get quality specialist help when they need it

Better help for neurodivergent people to get support when they need it, even if they do not have a diagnosis. Provide support that is based on what each person needs.

Neurotypical means people whose minds work in the most common, or typical way. Neurodivergent means people whose minds work differently to what is most common or typical.

This includes autistic people and people with ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder).

A diagnosis is a name that may be given to a condition or difference. Some people have a diagnosis and some people do not. People should get support based on their needs.

Ensure staff have time to learn new skills and knowledge. Then they can better help people.

What we will do

Many people and organisations support people with mental health and wellbeing.

This includes:

• the NHS
• councils
• social work
• charities and voluntary groups
• community services
• other people who have or had mental health problems

Everyone needs to work together to help people get the right help.

We will publish a Mental Health and Wellbeing ‘Blueprint’ guide by autumn 2027. This will explain how different support services can work together to improve mental health

People who have or had mental health problems will help make this guide.

We want services to:

• prevent problems from developing
• find problems early before they get worse
• help people get support quickly

This will help people get the right help at the right time.

People will be able to get mental health help online. This should be safe and easy to use.

Online help should not replace help in person. People should be able to choose how they get help.

Help prevent mental health problems from happening

There are different ways to prevent mental health problems happening or getting worse:

• spot mental health problems early and prevent them happening
• get help quickly, before problems get worse
• help people to look after their mental health to prevent problems getting worse or coming back

Things that can be bad for mental health:

• not having enough money
• not working
• being homeless
• worrying about housing
• alcohol or drug use
• difficult things that happened in the past

• feeling lonely or left out
• being involved in the justice system such as prison or the police

Helping with these could help prevent a lot of mental health problems.

We know that not all mental health conditions can be prevented. But people can still be supported to stay as well as possible and live good lives.

Budgets

Now, most of the money spent on mental health is through the NHS. The Scottish Government gives money to the NHS and Health and Social Care Partnerships decide the best way to spend it.

The Scottish Government also gives money to local authorities, community and voluntary groups.

The Scottish Government wants more money to be spent on preventing mental illness, treatment and support in the community. This will help to reduce pressure on mental health services.

The Scottish Government has started to record how money is spent on services that help prevent problems happening. This will help save money in the future.

Who will provide mental health help and support?

Good mental health services need the right staff to support people. Staff need the right skills, knowledge and experience to provide good care.

We want to:

• make sure that services have the right people in the right roles and in the right places
• support staff to stay and work in services
• provide training and learning opportunities
• support staff health and wellbeing
• understand what staff need to do their jobs well
• build a skilled and confident workforce

This will help people in Scotland to get the right support now and in the future.

When we will do it

Some parts of the plan will take longer to deliver. This is because a lot of people need help or the action will take a lot of work.

The Scottish Government and its partners will look at the plan again in 3 years.

They will check:

• what has worked well
• what work has been done
• what changes are still needed

The plan can be updated. Some actions in the plan depend on other work. Some actions may need to change the law. These actions may take longer.

The plan does not include everything that is being done to improve mental health. Some work is already happening or is included in another plan.

An example is the Suicide Prevention Action Plan which includes all the actions being taken to prevent suicide. These actions are not included in this plan.

Being fair

Some people may find it harder to get help:

• people who are not treated fairly because of their age, race, sex, disability, or who they love
• people living on islands or in the countryside

The plan will support work that makes mental health services better in these areas.

We will help make sure everyone has equal access to support. We will think about how changes might affect different groups of people.

Making mental health better is not only the job of health services. We will work with local groups to help with things that affect people's mental health. Community and local groups can help people stay well.

We will also help staff know how to:

• treat people fairly
• make sure everyone feels welcome and included

Checking the plan is working

A Leadership Board has been set up. This is a group of people who will check that the plan is working.

The Board has people from different groups. It includes people who have or had mental health problems. 2 groups help the Board and give advice on people's experiences, fairness and human rights.

We will check what work is being done.

We will check if mental health and wellbeing is getting better.

We will use this information to understand what is working well and if anything needs to change.