Mental health
One in four people will experience a serious problem with their mental wellbeing at some point in their lives. Moreover, mental illness can result in tragic consequences for sufferers - in Scotland two people die everyday as a result of suicide.
Latest research
“The recommendations on eating disorders are designed to provide practical guidance to all those who may be involved in trying to help with these conditions. The recommendations comprise a very up-to-date combination of literature reviews and expert opinion.”
Harry Millar, Consultant Psychiatrist, Eating Disorders Working Group
Our integrated care pathways (ICPs) standards are designed to improve services for people with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression, dementia and personality disorder, and will be used by each NHS board.
In developing the standards we worked closely with healthcare professionals, voluntary organisations, service users and their informal carers. And each NHS board held a local consultation event to gather feedback on the draft standards.
Eating disorders
Every patient or service user should be treated as an individual, every person with an eating disorder is different, so the care and treatment they receive has to be built round the individual.
Our recommendations focus on;
- The care of the physical aspects of eating disorders
- Communication between all those involved in eating disorders care
- Investigation of possible eating disorders when patients access primary care services
- Referral to specialist services, including pharmacological, psychological and self-help treatment regimes.
Our ‘Eating disorders in Scotland: recommendations for management and treatment’ report was the first report of its kind to provide detailed guidance on the approach NHSScotland should take to eating disorders. It was created by clinicians and public representatives and made use of guidance provided for England and Wales by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE). A patient guide covering the care of people with anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, or other related eating disorders (mainly binge eating disorder) is also available.
Alcohol misuse
The impact of alcohol misuse on society and the NHS in particular, has long been a concern in Scotland. We published two reports: the first addressed the size of the problem by examining the prevalence of alcohol-related problems in emergency departments, while the second report aimed to gather evidence on the impact of alcohol-related problems on the health service in Scotland. Other reports will follow and will look at the relationship between alcohol and self-harm, alcohol and children, and the use of intravenous B vitamins for alcohol-related cases.
Further reading
Access our mental health website
Draft mental health integrated care pathways (ICP) standards
Report on eating disorders in Scotland
Patient guide to eating disorders report