People living with mental illness in Clackmannanshire and Stirling have mixed experiences of the support that they received from health and social care services.
A report of a joint inspection carried out by the Care Inspectorate and Healthcare Improvement Scotland identified numerous priority areas for improvement within the area.
Inspectors noted that staff across the partnership were working hard to support people living with mental illness in Clackmannanshire and Stirling. Their care and compassion contributed to good outcomes for some people and improved their quality of life.
However, inspectors advised that the partnership should develop processes for capturing robust data on outcomes for people using mental health services and their unpaid carers to inform service planning and ongoing improvement.
The report recommended that staff across all mental health services should be supported to identify and respond to the needs of unpaid carers of people living with mental illness.
Integrated processes for assessment, care planning and treatment should be improved to support more effective collaboration between health and social care staff.
The partnership should develop a more proactive approach to emergency and future care planning. It should provide people living with mental illness and their unpaid carers meaningful and accessible opportunities to share their views and contribute to plans for the services they use.
Plans to implement a new Self-Directed Support (SDS) policy and improve outcome-focused assessments should be progressed. All options should be offered to people, with the necessary support systems in place, to allow them to exercise their rights.
The partnership should review the existing evidence and its wider approach to strategic planning at the earliest opportunity. Leaders should ensure that any initiatives that could rapidly improve outcomes for people living with mental illness and their unpaid carers are identified and implemented.
Jackie Irvine, Chief Executive of the Care Inspectorate, said: “Clackmannanshire and Stirling health and social care partnership is the only partnership in Scotland where two local authorities were integrated with an NHS board. This arrangement presented unique challenges that affected the quality of support that the partnership could deliver for people living with mental illness and their unpaid carers. We welcome the role that staff have played in supporting people living with mental illness in Clackmannanshire and Stirling. However, this report indicates that the partnership has significant work to do.”
Robbie Pearson, Chief Executive of Healthcare Improvement Scotland, said: “We met with the partnership on 6 November 2024 to discuss strengths and areas for improvement. We requested a joint improvement plan that clearly details how the partnership will address the key improvement areas identified by the inspection. Progress on implementing this plan and improvement achieved will be monitored, and we will also arrange a formal follow up review at an appropriate stage beyond the next twelve months.”
The full report can be read here.