One in four Scots think mental health support becoming harder to access

One in four Scots think it’s harder to access mental health services, as NHS 24 faces a 580% rise in mental health calls.

That's according to data from Scottish Labour, who are calling on the Scottish government to undo a mental health funding freeze in their recent budget.

Funding for mental services in the government's 2023/2024 budget remained at £290.2 million, the same as the year prior.

Abandoned calls

The number of calls made to NHS 24 regarding mental health issues is now seven times higher than it was four years ago - rising from 20,434 in 2019 to 139,008 in 2022.

The number of calls that have been abandoned in 2022 has also risen - from only 645 to 40,836, (6200%).

In 2019, 3.2% of calls were abandoned compared to 29.4% in 2022.

Scottish Labour mental health spokesperson Paul Sweeney said: “The numbers speak for themselves – Scotland is in the grips of a mental health epidemic.

“The legacy of the pandemic and the ongoing cost of living crisis has been challenging, but an increase in demand for mental health support of this level is alarming.

“There is a risk that this jump in mental health calls is partly due to people not being able to access the help they need from primary care providers due to prolonged waiting lists."

Record high support staff

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “Direct investment in mental health has more than doubled since 2020-21.

"With the he draft budget for mental health services increasing 139% over this parliament, we continue to invest in growing the workforce and seek further improvements.

“The mental health workforce has expanded significantly, with record number of staff providing more varied support to a larger number of people than ever before.

"The psychology and CAMHS staffing has more than doubled since 2007.”

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