Forensic Network - Scotland's Health on the Web

Introduction

Welcome to the Forensic Mental Health Services Managed Care Network (Forensic Network) website. The aim of the site is to provide a resource that will be helpful to all disciplines and agencies involved in Forensic Mental Health Services in Scotland. Established in 2003 when Scottish Ministers invited Andreana Adamson to lead its development. The Forensic Network is multi-agency and multi-disciplinary in its approach, with strong links with the Scottish Prison Service, Social Work Services, Police and Criminal Justice Agencies, The Scottish Government and Carers amongst others. As the Network grows so too will the website and we welcome any comments or suggestions on what you find helpful or what we can do better; please email the Forensic Network Manager at v.gration@nhs.net

This short introduction powerpoint presentation gives an overview of the initial aims and objectives of the network as well as areas of progress and future work. Background Presentation

News

May 2012 - Regional Policies
At the Inter Regional Group meeting on 17 February 2012 it was agreed that a list of all policies for Forensic Services would be placed on the network website for information. The purpose of this is to enable services to compare their lists of policies and contact each other for further information if they wish to develop something similar. Please find a list of the polices under the quick links section.
26/04/2012Commission on Women Offenders - Report
The Commission was established by the Scottish Government in June 2011 to look at ways to improve outcomes for women in the criminal justice system. The Commission, which was chaired by The Right Hon Dame Elish Angiolini DBE QC, operated independently of the Scottish Government. It held its first meeting on 24 August 2011 and spent the following eight months taking evidence from a wide range of stakeholders both orally and in writing, as well as visiting prisons and community based criminal justice projects.

The Commission launched its report on Tuesday 17 April 2012 at the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow. The final report is available to download by following this link CLICK HERE.
21/03/2012Mental Welfare Commission Review on the Death of Mr O
The Mental Welfare Commission has published a report following their review into the Death of Mr O. This document can be viewed by following this link (click here). Hard copies of the report is available on request by telephoning 0131 313 8777.
20/03/2012Stalking and Stalking Risk Assessment: SRP European Workshops
A two-day training workshop on the SRP is being held in London on 17th- 18th May 2012, and a further workshop in the Netherlands on 24th and 25th May. The workshop will be presented by the two leading authors of the Stalking Risk Profile, who will be coming over from Australia for this purpose.

The Prime Minister announced last week that a new offence of stalking would be fast-tracked into legislation through its late inclusion in the Protection of Freedoms Bill, which is currently before Parliament. His announcement included the statement that treatment would be made available for stalkers. In an interview in February’s Cosmopolitan (of all places), he stated that he would be funding the psychiatric treatment of stalkers.

Stalking is a common problem, but few services have staff trained in this area. The Department of Health and the Home Office are currently considering plans to encourage regional forensic services and the independent sector to cultivate expertise in the assessment of risk in stalking cases and the provision of treatment.

The Stalking Risk Profile is a structured professional judgement tool for the assessment of risks in stalking and harassment cases (www.stalkingriskprofile.com). It currently forms the basis of the approach to risk assessment and management adopted by the National Stalking Clinic (http://fixatedthreat.com/nationalstalkingclinic.php#), and the Fixated Threat Assessment Centre (http://fixatedthreat.com/ftac-welcome.php and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fixated_Threat_Assessment_Centre). It is the distillation of 20 years work by Professor Paul Mullen’s stalking group in Melbourne. Its structure incorporates two key facts: risk factors vary according to the domain of risk under consideration (violence, persistence, escalation, psycho-social damage etc.); and, within each domain, risk factors vary according to the underlying motivation. Assessments are shaped in such a way as to point to specific, evidence-based management interventions.

A copy of a brochure about the London workshop can be found here.
25/01/2012New Nurse Consultants
Helen walker has been appointed to the post of Consultant Nurse/Senior Lecturer with the Forensic Network and University of West of Scotland and will take up post on 01 February 2012. The overall aim of the post is to provide a nursing lead in developing nursing practice across the Forensic Network and to both collaborate with and support other agencies. The role also offers the opportunity to support the development and delivery of evidenced-based educational provision and high quality research programmes within the School of Health, Nursing and Midwifery, University of the West of Scotland (UWS).
Within the first year the aspiration is to; develop deliver and promote an extended range of new courses for the School of Forensic Mental Health and UWS, including the MSc in Forensic Mental Health. Support the implementation of group and 1:1 psycho-education. Explore joint research opportunities e.g. physical health in the forensic context, and commerce multi-site review of nursing asssessment tools. Consider educational gaps in the current market e.g. Forensic CAMHS, Police Custody, Scottish Prison Service and undertake needs analysis.

Pat Cawthorne has been appointed to the post of Consultant Nurse for Psychological Therapies, a joint post between The State Hospital and Forensic Network. Pat will also take up post on 01 February 2012. Pat will take on a key clinical leadership role in the development of the matched stepped care model of delivery of psychological interventions in line with The Forensic Mental Health Matrix – Guide to Delivering Evidence Based Psychological Therapies in Scotland. Other key aspects of this role will include developing and supporting the delivery of individual and group psychological interventions, as well as the education, training and development of nursing staff to support the delivery of low intensity psychological interventions, and the integration of therapeutic models within forensic services. The role will also involve supporting the development of therapeutic environments and forensic mental health services that enhance and support the efficacy of psychological intervention.

Helen and Pat will be undertaking a tour of Forensic Services across Scotland shortly to gain a better understanding of local operations and to establish priorities for their workplans.

25/01/2012Restricted Patient Team - Contact Details

Contact names and telephone numbers for the Restricted Patient Team at the Scottish Government can be viewed here.
25/01/2012Quality Improvement Framework
As part of the ongoing quality framework, two "live" reviews have been completed. Reviews of Forensic Services in NHS Tayside and NHS Forth Valley have taken place and action plans are in the process of being agreed with the services before reports are finalised. The reviews for other Mental Health Low Secure and Associated Community Forensic Services are planned before the Summer and the Learning Disabilities services will be reviewed in the second half of 2012. The Network are still recruiting reviewers and report writers for these reviews so if you are interested in taking part please contact Sharon Bruce via email sharon.bruce@nhs.net. We are also planning an event to share the areas of good practice that we have identified throughout the reviews, details will be available soon.
25/01/2012Clinical Forums - Proving Successful!
The Network reviewed the format of some ongoing groups to the Clinical Forum 2011. The first round of meetings of the five themes, Risk, Prison, Learning Disabilities, Sex Offending and MAPPA have all proved to be popular and successful and the next round are filling up quickly. The new format has also stimulated discussion about other topics for Clinical Forums, such as Addictions, Trauma and Community Services. So keep watching for more information on additional forum meetings coming soon.
25/01/2012Clinical Forums - Proving Successful!
The Network reviewed the format of some ongoing groups to the Clinical Forum 2011. The first round of meetings of the five themes, Risk, Prison, Learning Disabilities, Sex Offending and MAPPA have all proved to be popular and successful and the next round are filling up quickly. The new format has also stimulated discussion about other topics for Clinical Forums, such as Addictions, Trauma and Community Services. So keep watching for more information on additional forum meetings coming soon.
19/12/2011Clinical Forum: Risk
Registration for the Clinical Forum on Risk is now open. The event will take place on 03 February 2012 at SPS College, Polmont. To book your place please click here.
19/12/2011Personality Disorder in Forensic Settings - Call for Abstracts
The Forensic Network, Scottish Personality Disorder Network and the International Association for Forensic Psychotherapy are pleased to invite you to participate in this conference on 25 May 2012. They are keen to encourage wide participation and welcome abstracts for either 20 minute presentations (250 words) or hour long symposium/workshop (500 words) on the conference themes. Abstracts must be submitted to Louise Burns by 12 noon on Tuesday 14 February 2012. To find out more please click here
09/12/2011School of Forensic Mental Health launches First Prospectus
The School of Forensic Mental Health (SoFMH) was established in November 2007. Hosted by The Forensic Network, the School is available to colleagues and associates from across Scotland to assist with any teaching, training and research needs. The School has access to many experienced professionals and supports services in the development of teaching materials, courses or research in the field of forensic mental health. To date, The School has had commissions from Scottish Government, NHS Education Scotland, Risk Management Authority as well as Scottish Social Services Council and Police Complaints Commissioner for Scotland.

Building on this success and to promote the work of The School wider we have produced a Prospectus. The Prospectus set out the range of programmes offered by the School and encourages contact with us to identify and address new areas of need.

Whether you have worked with the School, have attended any of our courses before or not we are sure you will find this of interest and would encourage you to share it with colleagues across your service. To view a copy of the Prospectus, please click here
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