Mary Scanlon

Answer · Maureen Watt · 21 Mar 2016

There is a strong existing evidence base around psychological antenatal interventions for vulnerable expectant mothers. Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network 127 guidelines cover the management of perinatal mood disorders:
http://www.sign.ac.uk/pdf/sign127.pdf.
National Institute for Care and Health Excellence quality standard 115 contains detailed information about a range of antenatal and postnatal mental health issues:
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/qs115/chapter/related-nice-quality-standards.
The NHS's guide to delivering evidence-based psychological therapies in Scotland also contains guidance on antenatal care that can be provided for certain mental health issues, in particular regarding alcohol problems:
http://www.evidenceintopractice.scot.nhs.uk/media/131943/nes-matrix.pdf.
I want to ensure that services are providing interventions and treatment that reflects the evidence base. The importance of early interventions for early years is a theme that is being developed as part of our ongoing engagement on the next mental health strategy.

Answer · Maureen Watt · 21 Mar 2016

The Scottish Government provided funding to NHS Health Scotland, NHS Education for Scotland and Healthcare Improvement Scotland to jointly develop the Scottish Antenatal Parent Education Pack (SAPEP), launched in 2011. The pack is for professionals in Scotland to design and deliver consistent parent education that respects and reflects the individual needs of pregnant women and their partners. All 14 health boards have reported that they are delivering antenatal education and implementing SAPEP. NHS Health Scotland has commissioned an evaluation of SAPEP, which is currently underway and due to report shortly. This evaluation will also consider the effectiveness of delivery to vulnerable parents.
The Scottish Government funds NHS Health Scotland to develop and publish Ready, Steady, Baby!, a guide to pregnancy which is given to all pregnant women at their first booking appointment with a midwife. Ready, Steady, Baby! contains advice for new parents to promote babies’ wellbeing and development. NHS Health Scotland is currently reviewing the publication to improve the accessibility of parenting and health information for parents and carers, covering pregnancy to age five. The review process includes a comprehensive health inequalities impact assessment which takes account of the needs of vulnerable parents groups.
One of the key principles of the Refreshed Framework for Maternity Care (published by the Maternity Services Action Group) states that early intervention, prevention and promotion of maternal and infant health and wellbeing are integral elements within maternity care planning and provision. It asks health boards to develop mechanisms to follow advice and guidance on this. NHS Health Scotland has developed a website for early years workers which brings together published evidence and guidance on maternal and infant health and wellbeing, and includes a briefing paper on attachment which is aimed at increasing understanding of the theory and practice of promoting secure attachment.

Answer · Aileen Campbell · 16 Mar 2016

As part of our programme of work to improve permanence for looked after children the Scottish Government commissioned the Centre for Excellence for Looked After Children in Scotland (CELCIS) and Scottish Attachment in Action, to map attachment training and attachment focussed practice in Scotland. A report on the findings was published in December 2012 and can be found at https://www.celcis.org/files/4814/3817/9734/Attachment-Matters-For-All.pdf.

The Scottish Government provide funding to organisations who support those caring for looked after children such as CELCIS, the Fostering Network, Children 1st and Adoption UK who provide a wide range of training opportunities to foster and kinship carers and adoptive parents that includes training and support on attachment.

Answer · Aileen Campbell · 18 Mar 2016

Social work qualifying courses have been specifically identified as having a systemic focus on attachment in a mapping study commissioned by the Scottish Government that reported in December 2012.

https://www.celcis.org/files/4814/3817/9734/Attachment-Matters-For-All.pdf.
All social work qualifying courses must meet the Standards in Social Work Education, which include the need for students to understand psychological and physiological theories of individual and social development, identity and functioning from infancy onwards.
The Scottish Government has no current plans to introduce a target for advanced clinical postgraduate attachment training for social workers, however the Standards for Social Work Education are being reviewed by the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC, a Scottish Government non-departmental public body) to ensure they reflect changes in policy and practice.
The SSSC also provides a range of support to employers of social service workers to help them deliver their responsibilities to support and assist workers to achieve the qualifications required for the role they undertake and for their continuing professional development.

Answer · Jamie Hepburn · 15 Mar 2016

We recognise the important role research has to play in improving services and approaches to care. The Scottish Government encourages high quality research in mental health through bodies such as the Scottish Mental Health Research Network where a number of research projects are currently supported – and the Institute for Research and Innovation in Social Services.
NHS Education for Scotland (NES) is currently leading on the development of an Infant Mental Health learning resource, aimed predominantly at midwives, neonatal nurses, paediatric nurses, health visitors and the wider children’s workforce. This resource is being developed by both NES staff and partners from other organisations. It focuses on infant mental health, attachment, carer-infant/child relationships. The resource aims to not only increase the knowledge of its users in understanding these concepts, and how they can help promote the development of health infant mental health and positive relationships, but also to be able to recognise developing problems and instigate appropriate responses to address them.

Answer · Jamie Hepburn · 15 Mar 2016

Through NHS Education for Scotland, the Scottish Government has contributed towards funding the Psychology of Parenting Project (PoPP) with £774k awarded in 2016. PoPP is aimed at improving the availability of high-quality evidence-based parenting programmes for families with young children who have elevated levels of behaviour problems.
The Early Years Change Fund is supporting a number of programmes in 2015-16 to build the skills and capacity of early years practitioners. This includes funding NHS Education Scotland:
£84,762 to support the continued roll-out of the Solihull Approach, which aims to make basic infant mental health training more available to early years’ practitioners.
£112,358 to implement a training programme for early years’ practitioners in strength-based communication skills called ‘Connecting with Parents’. The Connecting with Parents programme aims to improve parental engagement and retention rates in evidence-based parenting programmes, including the PoPP.

Answer · Jamie Hepburn · 15 Mar 2016

The Scottish Government expects NHS boards to take due cognisance of the content of all such reports. NHS boards are responsible for working with their partners to plan and provide safe, person centred and effective mental health services which meet the assessed needs of their local populations, in line with clinical guidance and Scottish Government mental health policy and legislation.
The importance of the links between mental health and early years services is a theme that is being developed as part of our ongoing engagement on the next mental health strategy.