Child mental health year-long waits at record high

The number of children waiting at least a year for mental health treatment has almost trebled since the pandemic hit.

In March 2020 there were 695 young people waiting at least 52 weeks for their first appointment with Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS).

New figures show that by March this year the figure was 2,012.

The Scottish Children's Services Coalition (SCSC) said the figures were the "worst on record".

It has raised concerns over a potential "lost generation" of vulnerable children and young people whose mental health is being impacted by Covid-19.

Mental wellbeing minister Kevin Stewart said the Scottish government was "determined" to reduce long waits and it had allocated more than £29m to improve CAMHS, with £4.25m to specifically address waiting lists.

He said: "While it is welcome that we're seeing sustained improvement in parts of the country we want to go further and see that delivered consistently across the country. To ensure this we are developing a programme of enhanced support for areas where waits are unacceptably long."

The new report on CAMHS waiting times, produced by Public Health Scotland, said the March 2021 figure was at the "highest level across the year".

It suggested this was potentially because of a combination of school closures, children not having access to a confidential space for digital appointments or a "desire to wait for an in-person appointment".

In 2014 the Scottish government said 90% of children should be seen within an 18 weeks - a target which has been frequently missed.

The figures showed that of the 11,007 who were on the waiting list at the end of March this year, more than half had been waiting longer than 18 weeks.

A further 937 had been waiting for 36 to 52 weeks and 2,582 were waiting between 19 and 35 weeks.

Figures also showed that in the first three months of this year, 4,089 children and young people started being treated by CAMHS - a drop of 1% compared to the same time period in 2020.

Of those who started treatment in the period January to March this year, 72.5% were seen within 18 weeks.

The SCSC said the "frightening statistics" showed why MSPs must make increasing investment in support services a priority for this parliament.

A spokesman said: "This is a crisis we can overcome, but it will require a similar energy and commitment to that demonstrated for Covid-19 if we are to achieve this and prevent many young people giving up on their futures."

Scottish Labour health spokesperson Jackie Baillie said the statistics showed CAMHS services were in "crisis" and the number of young people waiting more than a year for appointments was "nothing short of a scandal".

She said: "We know that the pandemic has had a serious impact on the mental health of our young people - the Scottish government simply cannot continue to fail them.

"It's time for the SNP to stop failing the young people of Scotland and work with Labour to deliver the CAMHS services that we need."

Scottish Conservative shadow mental health Minister Craig Hoy also called for an "urgent plan" to guarantee young people are seen as quickly as possible.

He added: "The Covid crisis and ongoing lockdown restrictions have only increased mental health issues among our young people and this means SNP ministers must get a grip of this challenge now.