How we respond to Mental Health
The Scottish Ambulance Service provides support for individuals, and communities, experiencing a range of health and wellbeing challenges including mental health challenges and we recognise that these experiences can touch every life in Scotland.
Our organisation is in a unique position within the Scottish Health Care System. We are a national, mobile health service, delivering services locally and in people’s homes within every community in Scotland, 24 hours a day, 365 days of the year. This exclusive position permits the service to work alongside hundreds of other agencies across health and social care, and provides an opportunity to collaboratively develop, shape and improve Scottish healthcare.
The Scottish Ambulance Service is actively collaborating with key partners in the mental health sector across health boards, government, higher education and our third sector colleagues. Our commitment to collaboration with these partners is leading to the ongoing development of local and national pathways for specialised mental health and distress support, as well as opportunities for education and increased understanding of mental health across all areas of our service. Access to innovative mental health programmes such as the Distress Brief Intervention (DBI) Service allows our clinicians to provide options for ongoing support for people experiencing mental distress.
