Holyrood 'Must Spend More On Mental Health'

MSPs must plough a share of additional NHS spending into mental health services for young people, according to child welfare experts.

The Scottish Children's Services Coalition has launched a petition, urging Holyrood to fund in-patient care for young people in Scotland. No such facilities are available at the moment, with many children being sent for treatment in England. Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services are under increasing pressure in Scotland and have seen a 60% increase in referrals over the last 2 years. The coalition believes the extra money could lower waiting and treatment times, 

Sophie Pilgrim, Director of Kindred Scotland, said: “We would urge people to really get behind this campaign and sign the petition to ensure that this £25m in additional funding is put into mental health services north of the border.

“Our health professionals do fantastic work to help people suffering from mental ill health, but this is often seen as a poor relation when compared with physical health. A lack of resources in the face of dramatically increasing demand means that we are often asking medical staff to work with one hand tied behind their back.

“We urge that the Scottish Government takes this opportunity to go that extra mile and ensure that we have a range of mental health services available in Scotland for those who so vitally need it.”