Mental health waiting lists show Yousaf has ‘monumentally failed’, claim Tories

Humza Yousaf has “monumentally failed” to meet a commitment to clear waiting times for youngsters needing specialist mental health care, the Conservatives said as figures showed there are 7,701 on the list for help.

Psychiatrists branded the situation a “mental health emergency” as they warned capacity for child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) “simply isn’t keeping up with demand”.

Meanwhile, campaigners said it is “extremely alarming” that 469 youngsters – just over 6% of those referred to CAMHS – have been “languishing on waiting lists for treatment more than a year”.

The NHS Covid recovery plan, drawn up by the First Minister when he was health secretary, committed to “clearing waiting lists” for both CAMHS and adults waiting for psychological help by March this year.

Public Health Scotland data shows that by the end of March, the number of youngsters on the list for CAMHS treatment was up by 138 (1.8%) from December 2022.

However the waiting list was down by more than a quarter (26%) on the end of March 2022.

In the period January to March 2023, almost three-quarters (74.2%) of children and young people were seen within 18 weeks of being referred for specialist help.

That marked an improvement from the 70.2% recorded the previous quarter, but it is still below the 90% Scottish Government target.

Dr Kandarp Joshi, vice-chair of the CAMHS faculty at the Royal College of Psychiatrists in Scotland, said: “Once again we have a situation where many young people and their families are having to wait weeks to receive care, which increases their chances of developing more complex and severe mental ill health.

“It’s a mental health emergency and we predict demand is set to soar due to the cost-of-living crisis.

“We’re also dealing with the double whammy of having a postcode lottery of CAMHS services across Scotland.”

Dr Joshi said while psychiatrists are “doing all we can to support our young patients”, the “capacity simply isn’t keeping up with demand”.

He added: “It takes years to train new staff and services don’t have the resources they need to tackle the mental health crisis that is happening right now.

“The First Minister was in charge of health before he took the top job, when waiting times were just as bad. This situation is simply not sustainable.”

A spokesperson for the Scottish Children’s Services Coalition said: “The latest figures highlighting that more than 460 of our children and young people have been languishing on waiting lists for treatment more than a year is extremely alarming.

“Disturbingly, this means that the Scottish Government has totally failed to achieve its pledge to clear waiting lists by March 2023, leaving many thousands of children and young people waiting for treatment.”

Opposition politicians were also critical of the Scottish Government.

Tory mental wellbeing spokeswoman Sue Webber said: “Humza Yousaf owes a huge apology to those Scottish youngsters who are struggling with mental health issues.

“He has monumentally failed to meet his promise to eliminate CAMHS waiting lists by March of this year, with thousands of them still waiting to start treatment.

“These latest dismal stats fully expose Humza Yousaf’s flimsy NHS recovery plan and how it has simply not remobilised crucial frontline services.”

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton said the First Minister has “utterly failed” those waiting for help.

He added: “Mental health services were swamped before the pandemic. On top of that have been added the long shadow of lockdown, the pressures of the cost of living, and the SNP’s reckless decision to cut £50 million from the mental health budget over winter.”

Mental wellbeing minister Maree Todd accepted “long waiting times are unacceptable, and more work needs to be done”.

She said: “While we have seen significant improvements in the waiting lists over the past year, despite record-breaking investments in CAMHS the target of eradicating waiting times by March 2023 has not been met.

“The clearance of long waits is necessary for boards to meet the standard, and most health boards have effectively eliminated their long waits for CAMHS – 11 out of 14 boards now have less than 4% of waits over a year.

“These figures are evidence of significant and sustained progress, including continuing record levels of activity.

“This has been made possible by the hard work of the CAMHS workforce which has more than doubled, since 2007. This progress has been made despite an increasing number of referrals for the services, which are now at record levels.”