Youth suicide campaigners have branded mental health waiting times for kids a “disgrace” after shock new figures revealed young people have been left waiting more than 4.5 million days for treatment in Scotland.
Parents who have tragically lost children who have taken their own lives said the delays are leaving vulnerable youngsters without help for months – with devastating consequences.
It comes after the Record launched its Save Young Lives campaign in November in response to an epidemic of young deaths across the country.
Sharon Johnstone, 53, from Ayr, lost her 21-year-old son Lewis in 2016, just three days before he was due to be seen in an emergency mental health appointment.
She told the Record: “I think these figures are a disgrace and quite frankly – disgusting
“These waiting times are far too long and to see these numbers laid out in black and white is a stark reality.
“People are dying on these lists. “
The figures, uncovered by the Scottish Liberal Democrats through a freedom of information request to NHS boards, show the Scottish Government has breached its target that 90% of children and young people should start treatment within 18 weeks of referral.
Since 2019, the total delay across Scotland has exceeded 4.5 million days, with NHS Lothian alone accounting for nearly 200,000 days of waiting.
Other breaches include 11,442 days in NHS Highland, 3,921 days in NHS Lanarkshire, 1,939 days in NHS Tayside and 1,540 days in NHS Grampian.
Sharon continued: “They tell kids to contact these services but there is no help. What do they expect children and parents to do? Just keep taking medication and get on with it? It’s a joke.”
Ruth Moss, 54, from Edinburgh, lost her 13-year-old daughter Sophie to suicide in 2014 after struggling to get mental health support.
Despite being referred urgently to Child and Adolescent Mental Health Sevirces (CAMHS), her case was deemed to be “non-urgent”.
She said: “These figures are appalling. We are in the grip of a mental health crisis and these statistics should be seen as more than just numbers.
“Each one translates to a child who is truly struggling and suffering. .
“This has been going on for far too long.
I lost Sophie 12 years ago, yet we are still in this situation.
“That’s a disgrace and to say it’s not improving quick enough despite so much effort to talk about mental health. When is someone in government going to step up and take credible action?”
The Record’s Save Young Lives campaign has repeatedly called on the Scottish Government to reduce mental health waiting times for children.
Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar slammed the failures in the current system as “scandalous”.
He said: “Under the Scottish National Party, too many young people are falling through the cracks of a broken system in their hour of need.
“Too many young people face painfully long waits for treatment at CAMHS while thousands are turned away altogether.
“It is scandalous that children and young people are being failed in this way.”
Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton echoed Sarwar’s condemnation of the scale of delays.
He added: “If your child breaks their arm, you’d expect them to be seen the same day.
“But if they come to you and say they are struggling with their mental health, they can expect to wait months for care.
“The scale on which the SNP are breaking this promise to children and young people is truly scandalous.
“People simply cannot trust them to deliver for mental health.”
SNP candidate Clare Haughey said demand for support had risen but insisted progress was being made.
DAILY RECORD
Categories: News