Staff training a priority.
More staff will be trained to deliver psychological therapies for children and young people.
A £1 million investment from the £15 million Mental Health Innovation Fund will deliver a three year NHS Education for Scotland programme to further support the mental health workforce.
Existing child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) staff will receive further training in areas identified by NHS health boards as priorities for the children and young people they see.
The funding will also allow more specialised supervisors of front-line staff to support the delivery of cognitive behavioural therapy, interpersonal psychotherapy, systemic family therapy and specialised interventions for young people.
Figures published today show a five per cent increase (5.8 per cent WTE) in clinical staff working in CAMHS in Scotland since June 2014 – and a 28.4 per cent increase (28.1 per cent WTE) since September 2009.
Increasing the skills and qualifications of staff – so they can deliver evidence based treatments for problems including depression, anxiety, obsessive compulsive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, sexual trauma and anorexia nervosa – will provide further help to deal with increasing demand and reduce waiting times.
The latest statistics from ISD Scotland show that 76.6 per cent of CAMHS patients were seen within 18 weeks in the quarter ending 30 June 2015. The total number of people seen in this quarter increased by 30 per cent on the same period last year, and the average wait remained at nine weeks. People requiring urgent access to services are seen as a priority.
For psychological therapies 81.6 per cent were seen within 18 weeks. The number of people seen in this quarter is 27 per cent higher than the equivalent period in 2014.
Minister for Sport, Health Improvement and Mental Health, Jamie Hepburn, said:
“Waiting times for mental health treatments have come down significantly in recent years, despite a large increase in demand. However, having become the first country in the UK to set waiting times targets in this area, we are absolutely determined to maintain that improvement and reach the targets we have set.
“We have already invested a significant amount in mental health services, leading to record levels of specialists. In the last six years, Scotland’s CAMHS workforce has increased by more than a quarter.
“There has been a significant increase in demand in recent years, and an increasing number of young people starting treatment over the last two years. This is thought to be mainly because more people are seeking help.
“The £100 million fund we announced earlier this year will be key when it comes to making the further improvements we need.
“Through this substantial fund, we will be able to extend capacity, improve access to services and promote innovation and new ways of treating people.”
Notes to Editors
In addition to the three year £15 million Innovation Fund, an extra £85 million will be invested in improving mental health services over the next five years making a total additional investment of £100 million.
The additional investment will partly be used to further improve child and adolescent mental health (CAMHS) services and bring down waiting times. It will also be targeted at improving access to services, and in particular psychological therapies.
CAMHS and psychological therapy waiting times and workforce statistics can be viewed at http://www.isdscotland.org/
