Trauma Informed Practice
Creating a trauma informed and responsive organisation is everybody’s business and affects all areas within an organisation. It is not enough to know that trauma exists, it’s what we do with that knowledge and how we minimise our impact on that trauma.
Elected Member Briefing Note: Trauma is Everybody’s Business
To fully embed this practice is a long term project, with specific focus on areas being dependent on the needs and priorities of each Local Authority. How it is implemented in Edinburgh will not be the same for Moray.
Scottish Government’s vision
In 2017, the Scottish Government stated that it wanted Scotland to be a trauma informed nation with a trauma informed and responsive work force. To support and deliver this vision, the National Trauma Transformation Programme (NTTP) was created and is continuously funded by the Scottish Government. The delivery of the NTTP is supported by the partnership of the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA), NHS Education for Scotland (NES), the Improvement Service (IS), and the Resilience Learning Partnership (RLP). The vision is for a trauma informed and responsive nation with a workforce that is capable of recognising where people are affected by trauma and adversity, able to respond in ways that prevent further harm while supporting recovery and can address inequalities and improve life chances.
What does this mean for Moray?
Current activity is focused within the Health and Social Care Partnership, and incorporates services from Social Work, Housing, NHS, Education, Police, and external charities and agencies; all of whom are involved in supporting and protecting vulnerable members of our community. This also includes working with services that support the staff, such as Information Services and Human Resources. Future activity will extend to the wider Moray Council services.
First steps
The Trauma Informed Practice Development Officer, Liz Russell, is currently carrying out initial activity which includes an Introduction Brief, that is delivered at a team level. This brief further highlights the Scottish Government’s vision and activities that are supporting the training and delivery of this journey. This is followed by a Walk Through Lens of the team, to identify areas that are already working in a trauma informed way, and areas that may need more focus. To either arrange a brief or discuss potential input, please email Liz Russell at: TraumaInformedPractice@moray.gov.uk