Young people across South Scotland are being failed when it comes to access to mental health support as new figures show waiting time performance plummeting in mental health services.

In CAMHS, the proportion of children and young people seen within 18 weeks fell to only 67.9 per cent, compared to the target of 90 per cent – this is also down on the previous quarter and almost 10 per cent down on the same quarter last year.

As many as 8,331 children and young people were still stuck on waiting lists to start treatment at the end of September 2022.

Performance has also declined for psychological therapy for adults, with the proportion of patients seen within 18 weeks falling to 80.7 per cent – down on the last quarter and plummeting compared with last year.

These shocking figures go to show that mental health services are in a ‘tailspin’ and that Scotland’s ‘do-nothing’ Health Minister is failing Scotland’s vulnerable people.

Commenting, Martin Whitfield MSP said:

“These disastrous CAMHS waiting figures show that mental health services in Scotland are in a tailspin and that young people who need care and support are being failed.

“Scottish Government inaction has forced these services to crisis point – with the most vulnerable in our society bearing the brunt. An entire generation are now at risk of being failed by SNP inaction to support CAMHS services.

“Early intervention is vital to ensure young people get the treatment that they need. I will continue to call for this to be at the heart of our CAMHS strategy. It’s time for Ministers to support NHS staff to deliver these vital services for Scotland’s young people.”