‘Pull out all the stops’ to improve mental health of the young – psychiatrists

Psychiatrists have called on the Scottish Government to “pull out all the stops” and explain how it will meet its target for investing in mental health services for children and young people.

The call from the Royal College of Psychiatrists (RCPsych) in Scotland comes as new research by the professional body found that almost nine in 10 (88%) of leading child and adolescent mental health (CAMHS) psychiatrists surveyed said the services they operate in are insufficiently or very insufficiently resourced.

About 84% said they had seen a significant increase in the need for mental health services during the Covid-19 crisis, and more than six in 10 (62%) said the pandemic had a very negative impact on the wellbeing of children and young people they provided care to.

However, more than nine in 10 (92%) of the 51 respondents said that the staffing situation had got worse due to the pandemic.

RCPsych in Scotland is now calling on the Scottish Government to outline how it will reach its target of directing 1% of the health budget to CAMHS by 2026.

Dr Helen Smith, chairwoman of the CAMHS Faculty at RCPsych in Scotland, said: “While we welcomed the efforts to invest into CAMHS through the Mental Health and Renewal Fund, this cannot be the end of this investment.

“The Scottish Government must pull out all the stops and outline how they will meet their own target by 2026.

“We need more staff to be able to deliver specialist mental health care to our children and young people.

“There also needs to be much greater co-ordination between CAMHS and other health settings, to ensure every child or young person who isn’t clinically in need of CAMHS, does access the right care and support.

“Our young people need our help with their mental health more than ever and, as we begin to see the pandemic slide, what we need is a proper explanation as to how targets will be met for the future.”

RCPsych in Scotland said that of the 133 CAMHS psychiatrists in Scotland, 51 (38%) responded to the survey, which went out to members between January 24 and February 2, 2022.

The new data coincides with Children’s Mental Health week which runs from February 7 to 13.

Kevin Stewart, Minister for Mental Wellbeing, said: “There has been extraordinary pressure on mental health services throughout the pandemic, and we have responded with record-breaking levels of investment, including our £120 million Recovery and Renewal Fund, to transform the mental health system via more than 100 action points.

“We are taking forward work in a range of areas, from improving specialist mental health services, to reducing stigma and addressing causes of poor mental health.

“As part of that work, we have invested £40 million to improve CAMHS and to clear waiting lists by March 2023. We are also continuing to work directly with Health Boards with the poorest performance to ensure the 18-week waiting time standard is met.

“We have also provided an additional £15 million to local authorities to deliver locally based mental health and wellbeing support for five-24 year olds in their communities, providing alternative treatment options and pathways to CAMHS and ensured access to counselling support services in all secondary schools.

“We are committed to every GP Practice having access to a mental health and wellbeing service by 2026, funding 1,000 additional dedicated staff.

“We have started work to implement the National CAMHS service specification, which sets out the levels of service that children, young people and families can expect from CAMHS across Scotland, and will publish a new long-term Mental Health Workforce Plan in the first half of this Parliament.

“Since 2007, CAMHS staffing has increased by 79%, and we continue to create posts in this area.

“This package of commitments is designed to help ensure the right help is available, in the right place, at the right time.”