By Bill Heaney
Scottish Liberal Democrat leader and health spokesperson Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP, right, has today demanded that the Scottish Government commit to creating world-leading drug and alcohol services after new figures revealed that almost 1,400 babies have been born dependent on substances since 2017.
Statistics compiled by the LIbDems through freedom of information requests show that at least 1,363 babies were born with neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) – showing signs of drug addiction because of their mother taking legal or illegal drugs during pregnancy.
The health boards reporting the most cases were NHS Lothian with 692, NHS Grampian with 209 and NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde with 201.
The symptoms of NAS, caused by drugs passing from the mother to her foetus’ blood stream during pregnancy, include uncontrollable trembling, hyperactivity, blotchy skin and high-pitch crying.
Mr Cole-Hamilton said: “Drug deaths make the headlines but in a host of other ways drug misuse can make lives a misery. There is perhaps no more awful start in life for a new-born baby than to be born dependent on drugs.
“The Scottish Government need to shoulder some of the blame. The cuts they delivered meant drug and alcohol services closed their doors and valuable expertise was lost.
“I don’t want to see future generations still struggling with drug misuse. That’s why Scottish Liberal Democrats are committed to investing in local services which are best placed to intervene to stop lives from being lost and new lives starting dependent on substances.”
Meanwhile, Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP has today demanded immediate action to combat Scotland’s mental health emergency, as he revealed that the Scottish Government’s mental health treatment time target for children and young people was breached by more than 1.3m days last year.
His call comes as Scottish Liberal Democrat freedom of information requests reveal:
• Since April 2019, the 18-week treatment time target has been breached by a cumulative 3,998,301 days, including 1,390,856 days last year alone. This is more than twice the pre-pandemic level, when the total stood at 648,639 days for the whole year.
• NHS Borders waiting time target breaches have increased from 1,680 days in 2019/20 to 56,756 days in 2022/23, while NHS Lanarkshire increased from 71,177 days in 2019/20 to 424,023 days in 2022/23.
• NHS Lothian has recorded 1,224,839 days of treatment time target breaches since April 2019.
Mr Cole-Hamilton commented: “Humza Yousaf, left, gave a personal commitment to clear mental health waiting lists by last spring. These figures show exactly what his word is worth.
“For children in need and those who love them, these long waits must feel like a lifetime. I cannot believe that the Greens and SNP are cutting another £30 million from mental health budgets this winter.
“Scottish Liberal Democrats are the party of mental health. We secured extra funding and led the way in getting the Scottish Parliament to declare a mental health emergency.
“The First Minister should today adopt our proposals for more counsellors in schools, a single point of contact for those on waiting lists, and the rollout of more mental health professionals in GP surgeries and A&E departments near you.”