Training

Scotland’s 10-year Mental Health Strategy (2017-2027) puts a strong emphasis on the importance of training and building capacity across the public health workforce to promote positive mental health and wellbeing. 

It is important that the workforce feel confident and are equipped to have conversations about mental health and are able to provide support in situations of distress, including self-harm and risk of suicide. Introduction The NHS Education for Scotland Mental Health Improvement and Suicide Prevention Framework; Scotland’s Knowledge and Skills Framework for Mental Health Improvement, Self-harm and Suicide Prevention is a tool to support the development of knowledge and skills across all public services and beyond. 

The framework includes four domains that cover the promotion of good mental health, improving quality of life, tackling mental health inequalities, supporting people in distress or crisis, promoting resilience and recovery, preventing self-harm and suicide, and the knowledge and skills required across the four levels of practice: informed, skilled, enhanced and specialist. 

The NHS Lanarkshire Public Mental Health and the Health Improvement Team have developed a Mental Health Training Pathway that has been structured to reflect Scotland’s Knowledge and Skills Framework for Mental Health Improvement, Self-harm and Suicide Prevention. The pathway is a tool to encourage the public health workforce to progressively build their knowledge and skills relevant to their role and responsibilities in the area of mental health. 

The resource is not a training calendar but rather a reference and guidance document to help individuals, teams, and organisations explore potential training opportunities that are available, and whilst not exhaustive, it can support navigation through the relevant and appropriate levels according to roles.