Local Act awareness raising and training has been established to assist practitioners in their everyday practice. If you are interested in finding out more about training opportunities please contact:
The N.E.S "e-learning" training package for the Mental Health (Care & Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003 is available to all staff, carers, service users & anybody with an interest who needs to be aware of the Act and how it will impact on their everyday practice.
It is important to recognise that this resource is not guidance and should not be used to inform legal decision making. Codes of Practice for the Act are available to assist decision making
It is very simple to register on line and navigate the NES site at home or in the workplace.
Go to: http://www.nes.scot.nhs.uk/mha/elearning
Learning can be done at your own pace whenever and however you want to progress and to the level most appropriate to your sphere of practice.
The training program recognizes the need to move from "one-off " training from specific sections towards general good practice and recognize the need to be influenced by people who may have experienced periods of detention..
The main aims of training will be for staff to;
There are 5 levels available to staff, most will only require levels 1 & 2. More specialised levels exist (levels 3-5) for staff who require a more in depth knowledge of the Act. Level 1 - Introduction & Foundations of 2003 Act. Level 2 - Safeguards & Rights of Review & Appeal process. Level 3 - Compulsory Powers Level 4 - People with mental disorder within the criminal justice system. Level 5 - Training for Trainers.
Levels 1- 5 are the recognized training levels adopted by NHS Education for Scotland.
This investigation by the Mental Welfare Commission (MWC) involved the examination of practices in 4 Health Boards, three local authorities two private care sector providers, two prisons, the State Hospital and a range of voluntary services. The investigation concludes with 25 recommendations for all health services and local authorities involved with Mr G.
Mr G was a 61 year old man seen by the MWC in Prison in July 2004. The prison health services and the visiting psychiatrists were very concerned about his condition. He had been charged with assault and was thought to have a personality disorder. The MWC disagreed and intervened to make sure he received hospital care. He was found to have a form of dementia (fronto-temporal dementia) that affects behaviour and judgement but in the early stages does not affect memory. Mr G died in April 2006 in hospital care.
There is evidence from research that people with a diagnosis of personality get poor care from mental health services The MWC found this in Mr G’s case when they interviewed staff and examined records. With this in mind the following material was used to raise awareness of Mr G deficiencies in care report with all staff working in NHS Lanarkshire mental health services:
The summary report “Not My Problem” MWC(pdf44) Power point presentation Jim Grierson, practice development Nurse(ppt72) For further information contact James Grierson, NHS Lanarkshire, 01698 366011, or e-mail