Ministers urged to stop ‘short-changing’ Scots on mental health funding

The Scottish Government has been told to stop “short-changing” Scots on mental health funding, with Labour urging ministers to increase funding to match other UK nations.

Scottish Labour’s health spokeswoman Jackie Baillie accused Scottish ministers of “failing to act” after the party’s analysis of Public Health Scotland figures revealed 8,952 children had their mental health referrals rejected in 2022.

Rejections to the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) increased by 18.3% on the pre-pandemic figures of 7,565 in 2019, the party said.

Ms Baillie led a debate in Holyrood to coincide with Mental Health Awareness Week which called for the creation of a new referral system to ensure no young person was turned away.

And she said the Scottish Government must increase the funding allocation for mental health on the NHS, which is currently less than 9% in Scotland, compared with 11% in Wales and 10% in England.

She said Health Secretary Michael Matheson and mental health minister Maree Todd should “acknowledge the SNP’s failings” on tackling mental health, adding: “The SNP can end the short-changing on mental health funding in Scotland. With the scale of the mental health crisis in Scotland, this makes absolutely no sense and may be putting lives at risk.

“That’s why the SNP must urgently consider increasing mental health funding to at least 11% of the NHS to bring it in line with Wales, and indeed England, to bolster frontline services.”

She also called for every GP surgery to have access to a mental health worker, adding: “To do nothing to tackle this crisis would be nothing short of a dereliction of duty and an abandonment of the people in Scotland.”

The figures obtained by Labour also showed 30,000 children, young people and adults were currently on a waiting list for mental health treatment.

In response, Ms Todd said the Labour motion “highlights some legitimate concerns” which are shared by the Scottish Government.

However, a Scottish Government amendment said mental health spending had doubled in cash terms from £651 million in 2006/07 to £1.3 billion in 2021/22.

She said: “I absolutely acknowledge that some children in particular have been waiting far too long in CAMHS, but I am absolutely certain that what we are seeing is an improving trajectory, that we have built the right foundations to improve that situation.”

Ms Todd said the Scottish Government’s forthcoming mental health and wellbeing strategy will set out the additional work to improve access to treatment and support.

“Doing more of the same, I agree, will not deliver the transformative change that we need. This will be a key principle of the strategy and I am sure this is something on which we have cross-party agreement,” the minister said.

But she said the Government’s amendment sought to “restore balance” to the debate, adding: “Yes, there are real issues but we are also seeing real progress and it’s important that that is recognised.”

Ms Todd also said the number of children waiting more than 52 weeks for CAMHS treatment had decreased by 42% and 32% for more than 18 weeks.