Meeting of the Parliament 27 November 2019
I thank the Liberal Democrats for bringing this important debate to the chamber. No one in the chamber can deny the growing recognition in Scotland of the need to embark on a step change in mental health support. A staggering one in three Scots are estimated to experience mental health problems, sometimes with knock-on effects on physical health, personal relationships and work.
The Scottish Conservatives believe that it is vital that we move towards parity of esteem between mental and physical health. We need to start valuing mental health as much as we value other kinds of health. We cannot let it be seen as something that can be overlooked. It cannot take a back seat.
We have come a long way in how we value mental health, but there is still much further to go. Scotland could be a world leader in the area, but it is clear that, right now, we are not—nowhere near it. Last year, the mental health themed programme for government promised
“Speedier access to specialist care for all those who need it”,
yet, in that time and under this Government, nearly one quarter of adults wait too long for psychological therapy. That is not good enough. The Government has made a habit of making grand promises and not delivering on them. Mental health is just another area in which the Government’s words are not matched by its actions.
That is particularly a problem among young patients, with the latest CAMHS statistics revealing that almost a third of vulnerable children are waiting too long for mental health treatment. Last year, an Audit Scotland report stated that mental health services for children were too “complex and fragmented”. Even the Scottish Government's own children and young people’s mental health task force published recommendations earlier this year calling for transformational change to mental health services for young people.
Urgent improvements to access to services must be made to ensure that all children get a speedy and appropriate diagnosis. Anything less will fail children and their families. We should be trying to tackle mental health problems as soon as they occur and at the earliest possible age. Instead, issues are going untreated and, in many cases, getting much worse.
The latest figures also show a high number of vacancies for mental health services. The vacancy rate of 8.6 per cent across psychological services is the highest rate ever reported for the month of June. The Royal College of Psychiatrists has warned that psychiatric services in Scotland are facing a workforce crisis and child services are once again in the firing line, with the college warning that data from its 2019 census reveals that one in six consultant posts in the service are unfilled.
We welcomed the Scottish Government's announcement that it would provide funding to support the employment of 800 additional mental health workers by 2021-22. However, progress has moved at a glacial pace. More than two years since that pledge was made, the Government’s figures show that only 327 whole-time equivalent posts have been filled. In addition, only 112 of the 250 link workers that the Government pledged have been recruited so far, which is less than half the promised number. Those targets must be met.