ALLIANCE response to the Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy
- Area of Work: The ALLIANCE
- Type: News Item
- Published: 8th September 2022
The ALLIANCE has responded to the Scottish Government’s consultation on the refreshed Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy.
The Scottish Government invited views on its new Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy (this link will take you away from our website).
The Strategy will cover the next five years, until 2027. However, it also sets out a longer term vision and outcomes for the mental health and wellbeing of the population. The ALLIANCE welcomes the opportunity to comment on the refreshed Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy.
Our key recommendations and considerations are set out below:
- More explicit reference to human rights is needed across the strategy.
- Information on mental health and wellbeing should be made publicly available in a range of accessible formats.
- The strategy should align with parallel agendas, including the Scottish Mental Health Law Review, the National Care Service (Scotland) Bill, and plans for human rights incorporation in Scotland.
- Choice, co-production and a human rights based approach should be embedded across mental health and wellbeing policy and practice. This should include working with people with lived experience, unpaid carers and the third sector at the earliest opportunity.
- The strategy must recognise the psychological impacts of long term conditions and ensure equitable access to psychological support at the point of diagnosis, treatment and beyond.
- Efforts should be focused on early intervention and prevention to ensure equitable levels of community based support, and good quality, timely access to specialised support when appropriate.
You can read our draft response via the link below.
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