Scotland fails to hit children's mental health services targets

Figures for the three months to March 2015 show that six out of 14 NHS boards in Scotland failed to meet a target of 90 per cent of patients being treated by the child and adolescent mental health service (CAMHS) within 18 weeks of being referred.

These NHS boards were Fife, Forth Valley, Grampian, Lothian, Shetland and Tayside.

Three boards, Forth Valley, Lothian and Tayside, also failed to achieve 90 per cent of young patients being treated within 26 weeks of referral.

In NHS Tayside, 62.7 per cent of young people had to wait more than 26 weeks for treatment.

Across all 14 boards 14.8 per cent of young people were not seen 26 weeks and 21.1 per cent were not seen within 18 weeks.

Providers group Scottish Children’s Services Coalition (SCSC) said it is concerned about the effect of the delays on young patients and their families.

A spokesman said: “Families usually experience months of waiting even before a referral to CAMHS. 

"The consequent delay in diagnosis and appropriate support can result in crisis and the need for costly extra resources.”

The Scottish government has pledged to invest an extra £85m in improving mental health support for both CAMHS and adult services over the next five years.

A statement from the Scottish government confirmed that “the fund will partly be used to futher improve CAMHS and bring down waiting times”.

Improving young people’s access to psychological therapies is seen as a key priority by the Scottish government.

The SCSC spokesperson welcomed the extra investment adding that the Scottish government should "act quickly to ensure that those health boards who are failing to meet waiting time targets are given the support they need to do so, ensuring that those children and young people requiring these services do not miss out".

Jamie Hepburn, the Scottish government’s minister for sport, health improvement and mental health said: “We have been investing heavily for a number of years, and waiting times have come down significantly, despite an unprecedented rise in the number of people seeking help.

"Scotland was the first country in the UK to have a mental health waiting times target – a sign of how importantly we view this issue.”