The Scottish Government promised to eradicate waiting times for child mental health services by March but almost 500 who are still on a list have been waiting more than a year for help.
Currently there are more than 7,700 young Scots stuck on waiting lists to start treatment.
That simply isn’t on.
Doctors are calling it a mental health emergency as they are unable to help the desperate souls begging for treatment to deal with their torment.
The Daily Record has been campaigning for more support for our teens to end the fighting and bullying we see in the classroom.
But many of those situations will have been prompted by mental health issues and the failure to get young people the support they need means we are also failing as a country.
There is no doubt Covid shutdowns worsened children’s mental health with isolation from friends and, for some, being unable to escape to the safe school haven from a difficult family situation for even a short while.
But we cannot allow Covid to be the go-to whipping boy for all the problems in our health service.
CAMHS waiting times were already in a dreadful state before the pandemic.
The Scottish Government has admitted more work needs to be done and that they failed to meet the March deadline to eradicate the waiting lists.
To admit the failure is a step in the right direction but politicians need to tell us exactly what they are going to do to address it.
Empty promises will not help struggling children. There needs to be less talk and more action.
First Minister Humza Yousaf needs to move heaven and earth to help the youngsters swimming against a tide of despair.
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