18 month wait for therapy

Some people in Tayside are having to wait 18 months or more to start psychological therapy, according to data released under Freedom of Information laws.

The longest period a person had to wait to get therapy last year was 687 days that’s 311 more days than the person who waited longest to get therapy in 2016/17 had to hang on, according to the data passed to the Scottish Parliament.

NHS Tayside revealed in their response that 44 people residing in the region had to wait 12 months to be seen by a specialist last year, a further 22 people had to wait another month, six more waited 14 months to be seen and yet another six waited another month.

The health board’s response went on to reveal another eight people had to wait 16 months for therapy last year, a further seven waited another month and at least 12 more had to wait a minimum of 18 months.

Its response added that no-one in Tayside had to wait any longer than 12 months to start therapy a year ago and no-one had to wait any more than 13 weeks for therapy to start back in 2015/16.

A spokesperson for NHS Tayside commented:“Like many other boards across Scotland, we are facing a national shortage of trained staff in a number of psychological specialities. In addition, we are facing a significant increase in demand.

“Regrettably, this has meant a longer wait for some patients.”