Youngsters are deniedtreatment

More than 550 young children in Tayside were denied mental health treatment between April and December last year according to a Mid Scotlanmd and Fife MSP.

Claire Baker MSP said NHS Tayside had recorded 567 rejected referrals to the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS).

The issue was discussed in the Scottish Parliament last week.

Ms Baker, who represents Labour, said the government had promised an audit of rejected referrals, with a report due to be published this month.

Ms Baker said:“Across this region hundreds of children and young people are being referred to the NHS for mental health treatment and every year thousands are being turned away, yet we don’t know why.

“It took months of pressure for the Scottish Government to finally promise to audit these referrals and get to the bottom of this, yet still we wait and still far too many are being rejected.

“Tackling mental health, especially amongst children and young people, is one of the biggest challenges we face in Scotland.

“We have made great leaps in raising awareness and acceptance of this illness but we must do more. Over a thousand rejected referrals in a year is simply not good enough.

“We need to ensure that the right resources are in place to fully tackle mental ill health across Mid Scotland and Fife.”