54 young people waiting more than a year for mental health treatment in Fife

Mid-Scotland and Fife MSP Liz Smith has raised concerns over the numbers after new Government data showed that, in December 2020, a total of 54 people were still waiting for CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service) treatment – that's an increase of 74 per cent compared to the previous year’s figure of 31.

Across Scotland, a total of 1,560 children and young people had been waiting more than a year for treatment, with campaigners at the Scottish Children’s Services Coalition (SCSC) complaining that figure was the worst on record.

Scottish Conservative Ms Smith said that lockdown restrictions over the last year had increased the mental health pressures on vulnerable young people and that the Scottish Government needed to address the rising waiting times urgently.

She said: “It is incredibly alarming to see the vast number of young people who have been waiting over a year for vital mental health treatment in Fife.

“The lockdown restrictions over the last year have only increased mental health pressures on our young people in particular. The Scottish Government must address these appalling figures as a matter of urgency.

“Even prior to the pandemic, the Scottish Government were routinely failing to hit mental health waiting time targets. Enough is enough.

"They need to use these figures as a wake-up call once and for all in order to get our young people treatment as quickly as possible.

“Too many of them are falling through the cracks as a result of the Scottish Government’s failures to properly fund mental health services. The time for warm words is long gone.”

She continued: “Scottish Government ministers must outline how they will support health boards, charities and support organisations in tacking mental health waiting times and drive down these shocking figures.”

While the Scottish Government has upped investment into mental health services recently, those in the sector say there needs to be a "radical" new plan.

Jo Anderson, director of external affairs at SAMH, said: “Scotland’s mental health services were struggling before the pandemic and the latest figures, including those from Fife, demonstrate that we need a radical new plan.

"Young people deserve the right to get help the first time they ask – quickly and without fearing that they will be turned away.”

Mental health minister Clare Haughey said there had been a “significant increase” in performance in the most recent quarter, describing this as “encouraging”.

But she added: “We want to go further as long waits are unacceptable.

“The £120 million we have announced for our Mental Health Recovery and Renewal Fund is the single largest investment in mental health in the history of devolution.

“It will prioritise our ongoing work to improve specialist CAMHS services, address long waiting times and clear waiting list backlogs."

Ms Haughey also stated: “We recognise that not all children and young people need specialist services like CAMHS, which is why we announced funding of £15 million to be distributed to local authorities to support the mental wellbeing of five- to 24-year-olds in their communities.

“We will also continue to prioritise support for children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing in education, through our £60 million investment to ensure secondary schools have access to a counselling service.”

Nicky Connor, director of Fife's Health and Social Care Partnership, said: "Fife CAMHS continues to prioritise children and young people with the most significant mental health needs. CAMHS is committed to ensuring that the support provided is both timely and reflects the needs of each individual.

"Despite recent improvements against the national waiting times targets, Fife CAMHS continues to work on improving the responsiveness of the service and the quality of service delivery."