NHS Grampian missing child mental health targets

More than half of kids aren't being seen within 18 weeks

@Bauer Media
Published 6th Jun 2017

More than half of kids in the North East needing mental health support aren't getting help in the 18 week target.

NHS Grampian's got some of the worst waiting time figures in the country - with only 45.2% seen within 18 weeks between January to March 2017

That's despite a big rise in the number of staff being hired across Scotland to deal with children and young people.

The health board they have smallest workforce in Scotland - and they have to prioritise the most urgent cases first.

Maureen Watt, Minister for Mental Health, said: “This continued reduction in CAMHS waiting times is encouraging, with 10 Boards achieving the target this quarter – up from seven at the end of 2016.

“However I’m clear that we must continue to reduce waiting times and I will not be satisfied until our target is met sustainably.

A spokesperson for NHS Grampian said: "Our CAMHS staff are working really hard to see patients and provide services. We continue to target the longest waiting patients based on their clinical need.

"Children and young people with the most severe conditions and urgent requirements are prioritised to be seen and there is no waiting time for these patients.

"Referrals which are coded as 'emergencies' by the referrer are seen within one working day and 'urgent' referrals are seen within 10 days.

"We continue to have a comparatively small workforce, the lowest in Scotland, which continues to have a significant impact on waiting times.

"We have recently had confirmation of £337K additional funding from the Scottish Government allocation to improve service access and also new funding from NES to support psychology early intervention.

"Arrangements are in place to recruit 8 additional clinical staff across differing professional groups such as Psychology and AHP.

"This will allow a much needed reduction in overall numbers of patients waiting as our staffing levels increase and we implement our CAMHS re-design and service development plans.

"NHS Grampian is fully committed to further enhancing its specialist CAMHS service capacity and implementing its action plan for improving waiting times for patients."