Early intervention in psychosis: action plan

How Will We Achieve Our Vision?

We will take forward a two-stage process to achieve our vision that people presenting for the first time with psychosis anywhere in Scotland will have timely access to effective care and treatment, with early intervention and a focus on recovery.

Firstly, we will establish a National Early Intervention in Psychosis Improvement Network (EIPIN) , followed by the phased implementation of better Early Intervention Psychosis (EIP) services and support across Scotland.

The EIPIN will:

• Provide national coordinated clinical and programme leadership,
• Bring together partners from Health, Social Care, the Third Sector, and people with lived experience, and;
• Lead planned improvement activity.

By the end of 2020 the EIPIN will:

• Conduct a national Needs Assessment, which will make recommendations for how EIP services can be delivered in Urban, Semi-urban and Rural communities, tailored to their specific needs. These recommendations will consider workforce and cost implications.
• Undertake a detailed exploration of the current EIP services in two test NHS Boards and associated Health and Social Care Partnerships (HSCPs), and support those appropriately. The EIPIN will consider how relevant Quality Indicator data relating to psychosis can be best collected and optimised in these Board areas, what is required to improve their EIP services, and what success looks like for local service providers and service users.
• Review the relevant SIGN guidelines, and promote their active use across NHS Boards and HSCPs.

To back the work of the EIPIN during the first stage, we will provide up to £390k of funding over the next two years.

The second stage of phased implementation across all Health Boards and HSCPs will be guided by the EIPIN’s recommendations, as well as the learning from the improvement work in two test NHS Boards.