£85 million For Mental Health

The Scottish Government has announced an extra £85 million worth of spending for mental health services.

That's in addition to £15 million announced last year, totaling £100 million over five years.

It will be used to help cut waiting times, promote wellbeing through physical activity and improve patient rights - a key tenant of the forthcoming mental health bill.

The fund will partly be used to further improve child and adolescent mental health services, and bring down waiting times. There has been a significant increase in demand in recent years, with a 35% increase in the number of young people starting treatment over the last two years. This is thought to be mainly because more people are seeking help. It will also be targeted at improving access to services, and in particular psychological therapies.

Royal College of Nursing Scotland Associate Director, Norman Provan, said: "Nursing has a key role in improving access to mental health services and the quality of care provided. There are many examples of nurses operating innovative services that improve care for people with mental health problems, not only in NHS services in hospitals and the community, but also in local authority services."

Jamie Hepburn, Minister for Sport, Health Improvement and Mental Health, said: "Mental health services are an absolute priority of this government. These are some of the most vulnerable people in our county and it’s vital that the health service is properly equipped to give them the support and treatment they need."