Highlands and Islands Labour MSP states that CAMHS waiting lists in NHS Highland are still unacceptable.
Currently, The Scottish Government standard states that 90% of children and young people should start treatment within 18 weeks of referral to CAMHS.
However data from Public Health Scotland (published in December 2024) shows that in the NHS Highland region, only 43.1% of children are starting CAMHS treatment in that time.
This data also highlights that 16.3% of patients are waiting 53 weeks or more.
Earlier in 2024, it was uncovered, by the regional MSP, that NHS Highland were lagging behind in Scotland in eliminating their longest waits for CAMHS.
Rhoda Grant MSP says:
“It is unacceptable that children and young people are still waiting so long for mental health treatment.
“This has been an ongoing issue for years yet NHS Highland cannot seem to tackle this problem.
“CAMHS services are becoming a postcode lottery as other healthboards have lowered their waiting times while NHS Highland continue to lag behind.
“Young people in the Highlands and Islands already face the disadvantage of having to travel long distances to services and these waiting times make the situation worse.
“Poor mental health will impact on education and physical health and will impact these young people going forward if they are not seen sooner.”
