Scottish children waiting more than 1,000 days for mental health care

Children in parts of Scotland are waiting more than 1,000 days to be seen by mental health specialists, figures have revealed.

Statistics, released under freedom of information requests by the Scottish Liberal Democrats, suggested a postcode lottery for young people approaching Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS).

The figures show that children across health boards are waiting years to receive treatment from the service.

NHS Lothian had the worst performance, with a child waiting 1,100 days to be seen by professionals, according to the data from this year.

Scottish Liberal Democrats leader Alex Cole-Hamilton urged the SNP to do more on mental health PA Media

NHS Lothian, Highland, Lanarkshire and Orkney all had patients waiting more than a year to be seen by CAMHS.

The same health boards also saw patients waiting more than a year to start treatment over the past year.

The longest a patient waited was 1,600 days at NHS Lothian, while another patient waited 1,086 at NHS Lanarkshire.

Meanwhile, 35 young people at NHS Highland and 16 at NHS Lothian waited more than two years for treatment.

At least 52 patients at NHS Lothian, 33 patients at NHS Highland, 10 patients at NHS Lanarkshire and 25 patients at NHS Orkney are currently waiting more than a year to start CAMHS treatment.

Scottish Lib Dem leader Alex Cole-Hamilton urged the Scottish Government to deliver a “world-class” mental health service for young people.

He said: “If children and young people are waiting years for help, their mental health will simply deteriorate.

“The SNP have spent 17 years ignoring the scale of the mental health crisis.

“They have repeatedly raided tens of millions from the mental health budget, adding to the agony of everyone waiting to be seen.

“Scottish Liberal Democrats are the party of mental health. We want to drive down waiting times by installing more counsellors in schools and rolling out more specialists in GP surgeries and A&E departments near to you.

“Scotland deserves world-class mental health services. That’s why my party will continue to put pressure on the government to ensure everyone struggling receives the support and care they need.”

Mental Wellbeing Minister Maree Todd said 89% of young people start treatment within 18 weeks of referral PA Media

Mental Wellbeing Minister Maree Todd said: “The Scottish Government does not recognise the figures quoted.

“The latest figures show the best national performance against the mental health treatment time target for children and young people since the standard was introduced in 2014, with 89.1% of patients starting treatment within 18 weeks of referral.

“The waiting list for treatment is now at its lowest point since 2013, with one in two children and young people referred now starting treatment within six weeks, compared to 12 weeks pre-pandemic.

“This has been made possible by the hard work of the dedicated workforce, which has increased by 59.1% in the last decade of this Government.

“Despite the significant progress made across the system, we are not complacent. We continue to be clear that long waits are unacceptable.

“That is why, even with the continuing fiscal challenges we face, we have made the decision to increase the draft mental health budget for next financial year so that we can build on our improvements.”