Investing in the mental health of Fife: the Playfield Institute
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/17465729200900003 |
| Published date | 10 July 2009 |
| Pages | 11-18 |
| Date | 10 July 2009 |
| Author | Wendy Simpson,Graham Buchanan,Graham Monteith |
| Subject Matter | Health & social care |
The Playfield Institute is a unique partnership between child and adolescent mental health ser vices
(CAMHS) and public health.The Institute model is an innovative response to the national challenge
to mainstream mental health. Itsfocus is to build the capacity of frontline workers (otherwise known
as the children’s workforce eg. school nurses, social workers, teachers, foster carers etc) to promote
the mental h ealth of children and youn g people. It works by providing a multi-agenc y forum for
sharing information and developing practical skillson how to help children flourish. It also encourages
reflection on prac tice and undertakes resea rch that has a d irect impa ct on the development of
training and practice.To date, the Institute has achieved the following main outcomes: the facilitation
of a successful training programme , the development of a well-used, effective, online resource and
the co-ordination of a range of applied research projects.This paper discusses why the Institute was
set up, what it is,what it has achieved and how the model is sustainable.
Investing in the mental health
of Fife: the Playfield Institute
WendySimpson
Public Health Researcher
Playfield Institute
NHS Fife
Graham Buchanan
Manager
Playfield Institute
NHS Fife
Graham Monteith
Clinical Services Manager
CAMHS
NHS Fife
Correspondence to:
WendySimpson, PhD,
CPsychol
Institute Manager
Playfield Institute
Stratheden Hospital
Cupar
KY15 5RR
01334 696015 / 696257
w.simpson@nhs.net
EVALUATION
11
‘Flo urish ing is g ood for p eopl e, and fo r soci ety.’
(Keyes, 2007)
The Playfiel d Institute was fo unded in September
2005 in response to the need for change in the way
mental health services are perceived and delivered,
and is funded by NHS Fife.
Policy context
The Scottish NeedsAssessment Programme (SNAP)
Report of children and young people’s mentalhealth
(Public Health Institute of Scotland, 2003) made a
numbe r of reco mmend ation s to supp ort th e
gover nment’s st rategic visi on to improve m ental
healt h for all c hildr en and y oung pe ople. T he
subsequent Scottish government policy document,
The Mental Health of Children and Young People: A
frameworkfor promotion, preventionand care (Scottish
Executive,2005a), provided a planning andaudit tool
outliningthe service elements,actions and outcomes
required t o address these recom mendation s. Both
docum ents em phasi sed tha t all age ncies a nd
organisations have a rol e in supporting the mental
health of children and youngpeople ie. that mental
health should be mainstreamed. They also
highlighted the need to increasethe capacity of the
child ren’s wor kfor ce to add ress th e full ra nge of
mental health promotion, prev ention of mental ill
healt h and car e of thos e with me ntal he alth
difficulti es. As recommended in the SNAP r eport
(Public HealthInstitute of Scotland,2003):
‘NHS specialist child and adol escent mental health
servi ces shou ld be reshaped i n terms of provi ding
train ing, con sultation an d liais on to enh ance the
wider n etwor k of servi ces, thus allo wing them to
develop their role more fully for chil dren with more
complex and severe mental health problems.’
‘There s hould be su stained trai ning oppo rtunities
for multi-agency wor kers around the broad theme s
of men tal h ealt h and of p romo tio n, pre vent ion
and care.’
Playfield Institute was established in direct response
to these recommendations; to developthe sustained
capacity of the multi-agency workforce for children
and yo ung p eopl e to pro mote m ent al hea lth,
prevent me ntal illness and care for tho se who are
already ill.
Social context
Figur e 1 show s a model of o ur view of the soc ial
context leading to the developmentof the Institute.
journalof public mental health
vol8 • issue 1
©Pavilion Journals (Br ighton) Ltd
Keywords
childrenand young people
mental health
flourishing
multi-agency
capacity-building
To continue reading
Request your trial