Dumbarton MSP Jackie Baillie, Labour leader Anas Sarwar and First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.
By Bill Heaney
Children’s mental health issues were at the heart of First Minister’s Questions in the Scottish Parliament today.
Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar told First Minister Nicola Sturgeon: “Child and Adolescent mental health services are in crisis and they have been since long before the pandemic.
“There are 8873 children and young people who have had their referrals to CAMHS rejected in the past year. 1248 have now been waiting more than a year for their first appointment.
“Even those who have had a first appointment are still not getting the treatment they need. Here is just one example.
“Charlie, pictured right, is a Primary 7 pupil [from Alexandria in West Dunbartonshire]. He was referred to CAMHS in January 2020.
“In April 2020 he had a video consultation with a doctor from CAMHS. That is the last time he heard from them. He’s had no diagnosis.
“Without treatment, Charlie has become withdrawn and doesn’t like to spend time with other children.
“His mother found a video he had posted to TikTok where he asked if anyone felt like they wanted to die because they were so different.
“Charlie’s mum told the CAMHS service this, but they said it would make no difference to his waiting time. They told her that it could be another two years before Charlie receives the support he needs.
“This not good enough. Charlie is not alone. There are thousands of children like him.
“When Charlie’s mother phoned CAMHS they said they were still working through cases from 2018.
“This Government has never met its CAMHS waiting time and according to Public Health Scotland a quarter of all deaths of 5–24-year-olds in our country are from suicide.
“In the words of Charlie’s mum: ‘Our children are being failed and no one is doing anything about it.’
“But we can fix this. First – reverse the cuts [in funding] to mental health in primary care. Second – guarantee funding for school-based counselling.
“Third – commit to increasing the proportion of the NHS budget being spent on mental health so it reaches 11% – the same level as England and Wales.
“Fourth – create a new referral and triage system for mental health, so that no one is rejected.
“And finally, record and publish the waiting time from referral to diagnosis and start of treatment, so that no child like Charlie is left abandoned.”
Jackie Baillie, Dumbarton constituency MSP, added: “It is shameful that children like Charlie are being let down so badly. They need to be seen and properly diagnosed so the right treatment can begin.
“My heart goes out to him and his family along with the countless others who cannot get the support they desperately need. Scottish Labour have a clear action plan while the Scottish Government are busy making excuses.”
Charlie’s mother, Demi Gardner, said: “I feel that Charlie has been completely abandoned by the services which are meant to be there to support him.
“It is really difficult as a family to function knowing that he isn’t getting the diagnosis and treatment which could make such a huge difference to his life.
“When I spoke to CAMHS recently, they said they were working on referrals from 2018 which is astonishing. That means, having had his difficulties identified early on in primary school, he could be in high school before anything is done.
“That is completely unacceptable. Our children are being failed and no one is doing anything about it.”
Jackie Baillie outlined Labour’s plan to tackle the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services crisis:
- Reverse the cuts to mental health primary care, so that every GP practice has access to a mental health practitioner.
- Guarantee funding for school-based counselling so this service is not cut next year.
- Commit to increasing the proportion of the NHS budget being spent on mental health so it reaches 11% – the same level as England and Wales.
- Create a new referral and triage system so that every referral is signposted and no person is rejected.
- Record and publish the waiting time from referral to diagnosis and start of treatment, so that no child like Charlie is hidden.