Scottish Mental Health Nursing Review
The Mental Health Nursing Review report aims to enhance the conditions for mental health nursing to flourish in Scotland, now and in the future. The report was co-developed by mental health nurses, students, academics, with support from carers and people accessing mental health nursing care.
13. Annex B – Summary of Actions
Timescales: Short term – end of 26
Medium term – 26/27
Long term – 27/28
Strengthening the contribution and impact of the mental health nursing profession
1. We will establish an inclusive Mental Health Nursing Review Implementation Group to enable regular monitoring and evaluation of actions within the Review report and sharing of best practice with mental health nurses across a variety of roles and sectors.
Timescale: Short term
Action Leads: SG oversight of quarterly meetings and reporting to MHWB
Leadership Board and NMT Group. MH Nurse Leads, SEND, HRDs, IJBs, MHNR
Practitioner Reference Group and Leadership Advisory Group, Staff side reps - MHNR Implementation Group
2. We will embed the Principles for Care and Practice by developing a Mental Health Nursing Principles Framework that can be used to guide supervision discussions, and as a complementary template for NMC revalidation discussions.
Timescale: Short term
Action Leads: SG and MHNR Implementation Group
3. Working with Mental Health Nurse Leads Group, we will ensure mental health nurses can access sustainable and progressive opportunities to influence policy, practice, national and local strategy to achieve change. This includes but is not limited to: Mental Health Core Standards, Excellence in Care in mental health, Transforming Roles and NMT implementation.
Timescale: Short term
Action Leads: MHNR Implementation Group, MHN Leads Group and SG
4. Linked to the Mental Health and Capacity Reform Programme, we will explore opportunities to further develop the mental health nurse role within the context of ongoing mental health legislation reform.
Timescale: Long term
Action Leads: SG leading discussions, with input from MHN Leads and
Implementation Group
5. Working with the regional and national Advanced Practice Academies, Mental Health Nurse Leads, Consultant Nurse Group, NES and wider colleagues, we will promote, support and further develop specialist, advanced, and Consultant mental Health Nurse practice, aligned to the national Transforming Roles programme and NMC principles for advanced practice.
Timescale: Medium term
Action Leads: MH Nurse Leads and Consultant Nurse Group with support from
NES
6. Working with NES, we will promote and build capacity for the Psychological Therapies Education and Supervision skills pathways within mental health nursing and identify and address any local barriers to uptake.
Timescale: Medium term
Action Leads: NES + MH Nurse Leads Group
7. Working with the Mental Health Consultant Nurse Forum, Mental Health Nurse Academics Group and wider stakeholders, we will identify, prioritise, and share the mental health nursing research priorities in Scotland. This links to NMT Action 13.
Timescale: Medium term
Action Leads: Implementation Group with MH Consultant Nurse and Academic Group
8. Working with the Mental Health Nurse Leads and nurse leaders from other sectors, we will actively promote the use of the Triangle of Care as a framework for facilitating and enabling the involvement of carers.
Timescale: Short term
Action Leads: MHN Leads Group and Implementation Group
9. Following Phase 1 of the Stigma by association research, the Implementation Group and wider colleagues will work with See Me to consider the survey findings and embed stigma-reduction activity, drawing upon learning and evidence of what works.
Timescale: Short term
Action Leads: See Me and MHN Leads Group
10. Working with partners, we will scope options for developing a series of training events for mental health nurses that focuses on promoting relational impacts of care and reducing health inequalities in communities experiencing multiple disadvantages.
Timescale: Short term
Action Leads: MH Implementation Group, SG
Mental health nursing leadership
11. Working with the Mental Health Nurse Leads Group and SEND we will undertake an analysis of existing professional leadership structures, supports, and impacts across services and sectors.
Timescale: Medium term
Action Leads: Mental Health Nurse Leads Group and SEND
12. Working with the Mental Health Nurse Leads Group and the Mental Health Nursing Review Implementation Group, we will re-establish a sustainable student mental health nursing network to ensure connectivity, sharing of best practice, resources, and support where appropriate.
Timescale: Medium term
Action Leads: MH Nurse Leads Group, MH Forum Group, MH Nurse academics group and NES
13. Following the evaluation of the Allied Health Practitioners (AHP’s) Careers
Fellowship Scheme, we will explore the feasibility of establishing a Mental Health Nursing Careers Fellowship Scheme with the aim to test a model for implementation in 27/28.
Timescale: Long term
Action Leads: NES and MH Consultant Forum
14. As highlighted in the Workforce Action Plan and based on the national Clinical Supervision Framework for Nursing, NES will explore options for the development of the Professional Nurse Advocate role (or similar), learning from experiences in NHS England.
Timescale: Medium term
Action Leads: NES and MH Nurse Leads Group
Mental health nursing education and development
15. Working with NES, the Mental Health Nurse Leads, nurse leads from the independent and social care sectors and the Review Implementation Group we will scope potential gaps in the post-registration learning offer for mental health nurses, based on the Principles for Care and Practice, including considerations around physical health promotion & prevention.
Timescale: Medium term
Action Leads: Leads Group and Implementation Group, with support from NES
16. Working with NES, we will curate and improve access to relevant mental health nursing learning and development resources, which will be held on TURAS and accessible to mental health nurses across all sectors.
Timescale: Medium term
Action Leads: NES
17. Working with the Mental Health Nurse Leads Group and NES, we will review and refresh the existing mental health nursing community career pathways across the life span (incorporating CYP, Adult and Older Adult). Building on this work, we will develop broader mental health nursing career frameworks and will link this to the new online mental health nurse training platform.
Timescale: Medium term
Action Leads: MHN Leads Group and HEI’s with support from NES
18. Working with a range of stakeholders, we will review existing examples of good practice of involvement of people with lived and living experience in mental health nursing education and development, and then co-design and test a framework for future meaningful and sustainable involvement for those with lived and living experience.
Timescale: Long term
Action Leads: MHN Implementation Group with support from Scottish Recovery Network, VOX Scotland, and Carers Trust
Nurturing the mental health nursing workforce
19. Promoting, embedding, and monitoring the use of the recently published Clinical Supervision Frameworks for mental health nurses across all sectors.
Timescale: Short term
Action Leads: MHN Leads Group and Implementation Group
20. We will encourage Higher Education Institutions and mentors to embed the use of the Clinical Supervision Framework for mental health nursing students. Timescale: Short
Timescale: Short term
Action Leads: CODHS NES and practice supervisors
21. An employer commitment for mental health nurses to champion the use of protected contractual time for supervision, linked to Nursing and Midwifery Taskforce Action 17. To monitor the implementation of this commitment, we expect all mental health nurses across sectors to report incidents where their protected contractual time for supervision is not adhered to and the reasoning for this through locally agreed governance structures.
Timescale: Short term
Action Leads: Employers
22. Drawing upon nationally available support, such as Flying Start NHS®, the Mental Health Nurse Leads Group will seek to build on existing best practices to develop a test of change framework that supports newly qualified mental health nurses as they transition into registered practice and also mental health nurses who change roles, that can be replicated at a national and cross sector approach.
Timescale: Medium term
Action Leads: MHN Leads Group, NES, HEI, Implementation Group
Rural and island considerations
23. Work with the existing Mental Health Nurse Leads Group to establish a Rural and Islands Mental Health Nursing Network subgroup. This will provide an opportunity for rural and island practitioners to create a community of practice with the opportunity to establish strong links, sharing of learning and best practice with the National Rural Mental Health Forum.
Timescale: Short term
Action Leads: MHN Leads Group, National Centre for Remote and Rural Health and Care
24. Linked to action 15, working with the above groups, we will consider if there are specific education needs for mental health nurses working in rural and island setting.
Timescale: Long term
Action Leads: NES, MHN Leads Group, MHNR Implementation Group, National Centre for Remote and Rural Health and Care
Contact
Email: mhnursingreview@gov.scot