Pleas made to the Scottish Government for more mental health funding as services feel strain of the pandemic

Mental health services are not receiving a fair share'' of government funding, a psychiatry body said as figures showed inpatient admissions are at their highest rate in over two decades.

Figures from Public Health Scotland show there were 51,400 mental health discharges in 2019/20, up from around 43,000 in 1997/98.

Services were already struggling before the Coronavirus pandemic according to the Royal College of Psychiatrists.

This is despite ring-fenced funding of at least 8.1% (£1.1 billion).

It's now calling on the Scottish Government to apply that 8.1% to additional Covid-19 funding.

This would supply an extra £145 Million to mental health services.

The call came as RCPsych in Scotland published its manifesto ahead of the Scottish parliamentary elections next year.

It calls on political parties to recognise there is no health without mental health, to adopt policies that deliver parity between physical and mental health, and work with partners to ensure there is no so-called wrong door'' for Scotland's diverse communities.

Professor John Crichton, chair of the Royal College of Psychiatrists in Scotland, said: We have warmly welcomed funding increases in 2019/20, but mental health care did not have the resources to meet the needs of all Scots prior to the pandemic, with the highest rate of inpatient admissions since 1998.

As clinicians working hard on the front line during the worst health crisis in modern history, we know that the number of patients presenting with mental health conditions will dramatically increase in the future.

There is no health without mental health and that is why we are calling on the Scottish Government to give us a firm commitment that mental health services will receive its fair share of funding.''

Data from a Scottish government mental health report showed that high levels of psychological distress (indicating a potential psychiatric disorder) had doubled during the Covid-19 pandemic to 35.6%.