A new task force has been established in Scotland as part of a national approach to help a “misunderstood” mental health issue.

Organisations across the country have joined forces to drive a coordinated national approach to hoarding – a distinct mental disorder that is recognised by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

It is estimated that as many as one in 40 Scots adults is affected by the condition, which campaigners say is a hidden and often misunderstood mental health issue that impacts on people who hoard, as well as their families, communities, and local services including housing, health, social work, and fire and rescue.

The new taskforce is being lead by social services charity Iriss, who are looking to address how the issue is tackled on a local level.

The Glasgow-based charity says services to tackle the issue are now almost impossible to secure through many local authorities and at a time when councils are facing huge financial woes, the current approach of “clear outs” is “a complete waste of public money”.

Kerry Musselbrook, Iriss programme lead, said: “We are in the very early stages of this work, but already we have established a working group which will grow into a broad alliance of strategic and local partners in sectors ranging from health and social care to social work, housing, and fire and rescue – along with people with lived experience of hoarding.

“Addressing health and safety issues related to hoarding behaviour is challenging and not a job that can be done by a single person or even a single organisation.

“We will continue bringing more partners into the group and our ambition is to develop a pan-Scotland, pan-agency approach to hoarding. People are keen for national guidelines and practice resources based on evidence and lived experience to manage risk, and better serve individuals who hoard and their families, communities and workers.”

The taskforce was initiated by hoarding specialist Linda Fay who runs the Edinburgh-based Hoarding Academy.

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Already the initiative has the early backing of Stirling and Clackmannanshire, Pan-Lanarkshire and Glasgow Health and Social Care Partnerships, Scottish Care, and the Care Inspectorate alongside the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, the Chartered Institute of Housing and the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations.

Linday Fay added: “Hoarding is a significant issue for many people and organisations across Scotland and new approaches are required.

“Too often, the approach from public bodies is ‘clear outs’ (sometimes enforced) of people’s homes which, as well as being extremely distressing, are harmful to those affected and are a complete waste of public money. With a 100 percent recidivism rate, it is neither an efficient nor effective intervention.

(Image: Iriss/Hoarding Academy)

“A coordinated national strategy will ensure everyone working with people who have living experience of hoarding has access to evidence-based best practice resources, which will ensure person-centred and coordinated approaches that make the best use of scarce public resources and deliver better outcomes for individuals, their families and wider communities,” 

The next step for the taskforce is to better understand the range and type of resources that people working in social work and social care are currently using to inform their approach to hoarding situations.

The work it will carry out will also be discussed at a workshop event in Edinburgh on October 24.

The International Community Responses to Hoarding Workshop will bring together world-renowned international experts on hoarding disorder and multi-agency professionals.

Discussions will be led by experts from the University of British Columbia Dr Christiana Bratiotis, Associate Professor in the School of Social Work and Dr Sheila Woody, Professor in the Department of Psychology, who will speak about best practice in implementing community-based interventions.