Meeting of the Parliament 28 May 2025
I think that we all know—we have heard about it in several debates in the chamber—about the pressure that our hard-working GPs are under. I pay credit to Sandesh Gulhane for his work at the front line. His testimony speaks volumes and adds to the debate.
Ministers will also not acknowledge their failure to keep the pledge to allocate 10 per cent of NHS spending to mental health—a hard-won pledge that has now disappeared—and 1 per cent to child and adolescent mental health services. It was a promise made and a promise broken.
This is a crisis. It is a crisis for learning, mental health, work and families. It affects attainment in our schools, productivity in our economy and the wellbeing of tens of thousands of our constituents. That is why the Lib Dems have brought the debate to the chamber today. We are demanding urgent action from the Government. Today, we are calling for those robust protocols on shared care. We are calling for the creation of a national stepped pathway for autism and ADHD diagnosis; for titration clinics to remain open; for the delivery of the promised 10 per cent of the NHS budget for mental health; and for the recruitment of the GPs, psychiatrists and support workers we need.
This is not just about cutting waiting times. It is about building a system that meets the needs of people where they are.
I move,
That the Parliament recognises the scale of the mental health emergency in Scotland; notes with concern the lack of adequate provision for neurodevelopmental conditions, particularly in the context of a sharp rise in demand for neurodiversity assessments and treatment for adults and children following the COVID-19 pandemic; further notes the additional pressure on services caused by the global shortage of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) medication, which has led to the closure of titration clinics in some areas and significantly impacted waiting times and access to care; recognises the profound distress and disruption this causes for individuals and families who are left without timely diagnosis or support; acknowledges the knock-on effects on child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS), as well as the wider economic consequences of rising levels of economic inactivity linked to unmet mental health needs; notes the pressure that this puts on GPs and primary care; further notes with concern the widespread removal of shared care arrangements where patients who obtained a private diagnosis could receive ongoing care and medication through the Scottish NHS; expresses disappointment at the Scottish Government’s failure to meet its commitment to allocate 10% of NHS spending to mental health and 1% to CAMHS; calls on the Scottish Government to work urgently with NHS boards and local authorities to devise a robust protocol on the use of shared care arrangements to allow for their use where appropriate, and further calls on the Scottish Government to create neurodevelopmental pathways and stepped care models, as recommended by the National Autism Implementation Team and Royal College of Psychiatrists in the 2021 National Clinical ADHD Pathway Feasibility Study.
16:07