Families of young people failed by Scotland’s mental health system have spoken out as figures revealed more than 34,000 were referred for help in 12 months – the highest number in five years. A Daily Record investigation found more than 160,000 young Scots have been referred to the NHS’s Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) since 2018.
And just days after First Minister Humza Yousaf was quizzed over almost 200 vacancies in the service, data also revealed that average waiting times for young people accessing the service have rocketed in some areas post-Covid. Opposition MSPs have now demanded an urgent review of the “dangerously overstretched” service while families told the Record how children are being severely let down.
The family of 11-year-old Kyle Solman, who has tried to end his life four times in recent years, are campaigning for a “mental health A&E” for vulnerable youngsters. And the dad of tragic 15-year-old Anton Michael, who took his life at school in Stornoway despite being deemed “low risk”, spoke of his fears for thousands of troubled kids.
Last year the Scottish Government scaled back a planned £290million spend on mental health, cutting funding by £38million. The cuts came at a time when the number of young people relying on support was climbing once again post-Covid.
Figures from 13 of Scotland’s 14 health boards – NHS Orkney rejected our request – revealed 34,146 under-18s were referred to the service in 2022. This compared to 31,100 in 2021, 29,447 in 2020 and 32,650 in 2019. Last year’s figure was the highest since 2018, when 36,362 were referred for help.
The rise came as a shock report revealed suicide was the leading cause of death among children and young adults in Scotland from 2011 to 2020. In September, Public Health Scotland (PHS) said more than a quarter of deaths of those aged from five to 24 were as a result of probable suicide.
PHS figures published last month also showed 70.1 per cent of children were seen by CAMHS within 18 weeks of referral. The Scottish Government’s target is 90 per cent. Some families have reported waiting years for help.
Our figures show one of the country’s biggest health boards, NHS Lanarkshire, had an average wait time of 495 days last October. This compared to 67 days in January that year. It said increases were due to the service now starting treatment for more patients after prioritising urgent cases during the pandemic.
In December, Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar told then first minister Nicola Sturgeon that almost 9000 children were rejected for CAMHS help in a year, and more than 12,000 had been waiting more than a year for treatment. Freedom of Information data unveiled by the Scottish Tories last week showed that of the 190 vacancies listed since December 2022 in CAMHS, 89 were left unfilled for three months or longer.
The party’s shadow minister for mental wellbeing, Sue Webber, said: “The pandemic has worsened the mental health crisis among youngsters – and it’s tragic that, due to the SNP’s mismanagement of our NHS, so many are struggling to access treatment they desperately need. The dire workforce planning of successive health secretaries has left CAMHS dangerously overstretched.”
Scottish Lib Dem leader Alex Cole-Hamilton said: “I am sick of having a government which sits on its hands and allows horror stories like these to unfold. The First Minister should 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.”
The Scottish Government said the number of children starting CAMHS treatment in this quarter is the highest figure on record (5548, up 11.1 per cent).
Mental Wellbeing Minister Maree Todd said: “We absolutely understand the distress caused to children, young people and their families by any delay in accessing mental health support. Long waits are always unacceptable. We continue to invest heavily in CAMHS staffing, which has more than doubled under this Government, to the current record high of almost 1300 whole time equivalent posts.
“Our NHS is providing more varied support and services to a larger number of children than ever before. We are now seeing evidence of significant and sustained progress, including continuing record levels of activity and some of the most positive changes in waiting lists we have seen for over half a decade.”
Kyle
Desperate mum Kirsty Solman believes her son Kyle’s suicidal behaviour is not being taken seriously by medics.
The 11-year-old – who has autism and ADHD – has tried to take his own life four times in recent years but the family say they are struggling to access the right support. Kirsty and husband Scott have been forced to take turns sleeping amid their fears for Kyle.
The family, from Glasgow’s Drumchapel, have started a petition urging a “mental health A&E” for young people, which is to be considered by Parliament next month. Nurse Kirsty, 40, said: “Kyle is 11 and has already lost faith in the process and the professionals who are supposed to help him. He is back in a really dark place at the moment.
“With Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services he says, ‘What’s the point? They don’t do anything.’ He’s not sleeping so we’re taking it in turns to be up with him while we’re working full-time as well. We have spoken to other families whose children attempted to take their own lives and they are still waiting for an initial assessment through CAMHS.
"They are in limbo. I’ve worked in A&E as a nurse and we’re not all trained for when someone comes in in crisis with mental health. Far too many young people are taking their lives. They say it’s a tragedy but don’t do enough about it.”
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde said a “robust out of hours urgent mental health treatment service” was available and waiting lists for CAMHS had “vastly improved”.
They said anyone up to age of 18 “who presents at A&E or a mental health assessment unit who urgently requires a mental health assessment will receive one from the specialist CAMHS 24/7 nurse-led response team initially.”
Anton
Troubled schoolboy Anton Michael was deemed “low risk” when he took his own life in his school’s toilets. The 15-year-old’s family launched a legal fight against the NHS after a report concluded he had received “sub-optimal” care before his death at The Nicolson Institute, in Stornoway on the Isle of Lewis, in December 2017.
The family have now been forced to abandon the action due to the legal challenges and costs involved in attempting to prove negligence, but believe the health service should still be held to account for failings.
Anton began treatment with NHS Western Isles in August 2017 after sharing his suicidal thoughts with his parents who took him to see a GP. A preliminary diagnosis of Asperger’s was based on the results of a questionnaire and a psychologist who saw Anton when he was a toddler.
The boy and his parents asked for further testing but received no official assessment, diagnosis or treatment plan. Just four months after starting treatment, Anton took his life during a break in classes at school. In a note on his iPad he expressed frustration over his treatment.
An adverse event review concluded “a different plan or delivery of care/service may have resulted in a different outcome” and made
14 recommendations, including improving the system around risk assessments, record keeping and communication between clinical teams.
Anton’s father, David, wants to see change, including better training for staff and less stigma around prescribing medication to young people whose mental health is in a critical condition.
He said: “Our politicians must get their priorities right. The lives of our kids are the most important thing. Keeping children alive should be the top priority. We should not be squandering billions of taxpayers’ money on other projects when child mental health is under-resourced.”
David also called for a compensation scheme for those who suffer as the result of sub-optimal medical care.
He added: “Medical injuries and deaths can result from factors other than negligence – notably lack of resources or inadequate resources. Victims and their relatives should not have to establish negligence, an expensive and traumatic process, to secure recognition of their suffering.”
NHS Western Isles said it was not able to respond.
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