Children waiting years for mental health treatment, figures show

Children across Scotland are waiting years to access mental health services, data has shown.

A series of freedom of information requests to NHS health boards by the Scottish Liberal Democrats found some young people waited more than than 1,000 days for support.

In 2024-25, a patient in NHS Highland waited 1,189 days – more than three years – to start treatment with Child and Adolescent Mental Health (CAMHS).

Patients also waited more than a year to start treatment at NHS Ayrshire and Arran, the Borders, Greater Glasgow and Clyde, Lothian and Lanarkshire, where a person waited more than two years.

In NHS Tayside, one patient has been waiting 1,137 days to start treatment.

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton said long waits could damage children’s mental health.

He said: “The SNP have spent the last two decades ignoring the scale of the mental health crisis.

“Their failures are plain to see in all those children waiting months and years for the treatment they need.

“Making children and young people wait years for help only worsens their mental health; it is a sure-fire way to add to their pain.

“Scottish Liberal Democrats are the party of mental health.

“We want to drive down waiting times by installing more counsellors in schools and rolling out more specialists in GP surgeries and A&E departments near to you.

“We’d fund that by increasing the tax paid by the social media giants who cause so much of the problem.

“Scotland needs world-class mental health services in every corner of the country.

“Next May, you can vote for those by marking a cross next to the Scottish Liberal Democrats on the peach regional ballot paper.”

Mental Wellbeing Minister Tom Arthur said: “The national standard on waiting times for children and young people accessing mental health services has been met twice in a row and is testament to the hard-working staff who care for those referred to these services.

“We want all children and young people to be able to access appropriate mental health treatment as and when they need to.

“While long waits are unacceptable, young people in need are generally seen quickly, with the median wait being five weeks.

“We have exceeded our promise to provide funding for 320 additional staff for CAMHS by 2026, and this will no doubt have contributed to the improvements we are seeing but I am aware there is still much to be done if this is to be sustained and consistent across Scotland.”