Two young people from West Dunbartonshire have been waiting for mental health services for roughly 10 months, it has been revealed.
Figures show waiting times for children in need of support are at their highest level in over a year.
The latest Children and Adolescents Mental Health Services (CAMHS) statistics show that between January and March, a quarter of young people referred in the Greater Glasgow and Clyde health board area were forced to wait between 36 and 52 weeks before treatment commenced, with waiting times at their highest level for over a year.
In West Dunbartonshire an eight-year-old boy diagnosed with autism 10 months ago has been waiting to see a psychiatrist.
Meanwhile, his condition has become worse, and he is begging for the medication – in his words – to ‘sort out my head’.
Another case study was of a boy experiencing suicidal thoughts having previously been helped by CAMHS but who has now been on a waiting list since last August.
Dumbarton MSP Jackie Baillie expressed her frustrations and said: “If mental health services are going to be taken seriously, and they must be before lives are lost, we need urgent reform of the system of referral and triage to make sure those most in need are getting help immediately.
“We need a mental health professional in every GP practice as well as face-to-face services in every primary and secondary school. These are real solutions that can be put in place rather than the First Minister offering warm words but little action, year after year.
“It is utterly shameful that more than a quarter of children in crisis in the Greater Glasgow and Clyde Health Board area, including those in my own constituency, are being forced to wait for almost a year for treatment.
“I have heard first-hand from parents who feel they are completely helpless, being given no guidance as to when their child may be able to be seen.”
A representative from NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde said: “We apologise to any patients waiting longer than expected for an appointment.
“Currently, while challenges exist, we have been focusing on seeing those who have waited the longest and those at the greatest risk.
“We can confirm, as of June 6, we have no patients who have been waiting longer than a year for treatment, with 70 per cent of those on the waiting list waiting less than 18 weeks for an appointment.”
The latest CAMHS stats show that in Scotland as a whole, 1,322 children and young people, on the waiting list at the end of March 2022, had already waited more than a year for treatment.
Overall, more than 10,300 children and young people are still languishing on waiting lists waiting for CAMHS treatment. Performance remains well below target nationally, with more than a quarter of CAMHS patients who started treatment in the quarter ending March 2022 having waited over the target 18 weeks.
