Hansard

I thank the Liberal Democrats for bringing this extremely important topic to the chamber today.

Last week’s figures for mental health waiting times showed without doubt that, when it comes to mental health, Scotland is falling behind. As much as I welcome the announcement of the investment of £3 million over the next three years, I am disappointed to see the Scottish Government attempt to override a motion that rightly highlights what has been, at best, a patchy record on mental health. Attitudes to mental health have improved in recent years, which I whole-heartedly welcome, but we have a mental health crisis, and there is no reason to wash over it—we are where we are.

To put the debate into context, one in three people presenting to a general practitioner has a mental health problem, and about one in 12 people in Scotland use antidepressants every day. We urgently need ambition and a step change.

It is evident from last week’s figures that we are waiting too long before assisting people with mental health problems. Nearly 30 per cent of children and more than 20 per cent of adults are not being seen for mental health treatment within the 18-week target that has been set by the Scottish Government. That is why, as highlighted in my amendment, it is important that we refocus our efforts on early intervention and prevention by supporting people in front-line services.

With regard to children and young people, there is a vital opportunity to provide support for teachers who are struggling to cope with the demands of what has become a generational epidemic. Some 10 per cent of children aged between five and 16 have a clinically diagnosable mental health problem and 75 per cent of mental health conditions have onset before the age of 24. A SAMH survey showed that more than two thirds of teachers do not feel that they have received sufficient training in mental health to allow them to carry out their role properly and that only a third of school staff say that their school has an effective way of responding to pupils experiencing mental health problems. We must recognise the incredibly important role that teachers play in the lives of young people and support them in navigating the web of where to signpost pupils. That is why I am calling for a commitment from the Scottish Government to a national roll-out of teacher training as well as improved counselling services—something that the First Minister was not able to guarantee when I asked her about it last month.

As well as alleviating the pressure on teachers, we need to look at the health service provision for mental health. As I have mentioned before, social prescribing is absolutely key to promoting more intermediate forms of treatment and easing the pressure on CAMHS and psychological therapy services. We know that there have been 18,000 rejected referrals to CAMHS in Scotland over the past three years. That is why I am also calling on the Scottish Government to commit to the provision of specialist mental health support in every GP practice and hub and to concentrate on the faster recruitment of key mental health link workers. I also want mental health support to be provided in every accident and emergency department on a 24/7 basis.

Broadly speaking, the strategy has been widely criticised for its lack of ambition, and much of what we have seen in the past year has been a Government playing catch-up. Nowhere have we seen that more than with the suicide prevention plan, a strategy that expired two years ago, during which time we have seen suicide numbers rise.

I appreciate that a new plan will be published shortly, along with extra funding, but the process of reaching this point has been arduous, to say the least. Only this weekend we saw another third sector organisation, the Mental Health Foundation Scotland, express concerns about what it saw as lost impetus at both national and local level.

I thank the Lib Dems again for using their business time to highlight the urgent challenges that we face in tackling mental health issues right across Scotland. Many of the statistics raised across the chamber today will show why we cannot bury our heads in the sand over mental health. The appointment of a dedicated mental health minister in the Scottish Government two years ago was welcome, but we have arguably gone backwards since then in relation to assisting those who most require our support. It is time for us to be bolder and more ambitious in our mental health strategy and to ensure that no patient is left behind when they require treatment and support.

I move amendment S5M-12706.1, to insert after “requiring treatment”:

“; calls on the Scottish Government to refocus on prevention and early intervention through improved front-line support, including the roll-out of national mental health teacher-training, improved secondary school counselling provision and the placement of specialist mental health support in every GP practice and hub”.