Mental health aid is not a nice extra

SCOTLAND is facing a crisis in mental health, especially in young people, and we agree that lives are being put at risk (Crisis in Scotland’s mental health service putting lives at risk, News, September 11).

As a coalition we have campaigned strenuously to highlight the scale of the problem and the urgent actions that must be taken.

As part of the Scottish Government’s proposed Mental Health Strategy we need a renewed focus on early intervention and preventative measures, including developing children and young people’s emotional resilience, confidence and ability to cope with the challenges to their mental wellbeing. We also require greater investment to deliver a wide range of high-quality and well-resourced mental health services, delivered in the most appropriate setting.

While we welcome the additional £150 million the Government has said it will spend on mental health over the next five years, only 0.46 per cent of NHS Scotland expenditure is spent on Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) and currently half of all health boards in Scotland are failing to meet the 18week waiting time target for an initial CAMHS appointment.

Mental health must be no longer be seen as a “Cinderella” service and a renewed focus on early intervention and preventative measures, as well as greater investment and a focus in outpatient and community-based services, will go a long way in helping address the crisis we currently face.

The Scottish Children’s Services Coalition: Tom McGhee, managing director, Spark of Genius; Duncan Dunlop, CEO, Who Cares? Scotland; Sophie Pilgrim, director, Kindred Scotland; Stuart Jacob, director, Falkland House School; Niall Kelly, managing director, Young Foundations; Liz May, national co-ordinator, Action for Sick Children Scotland