Mental Health Minister admits there's "much more to do" to support young people
One in four children had to wait more than four months for their first mental health appointment.
There Scottish Government "much more to do" to support young people according to Mental Health Minister Clare Haughey.
She made the comment when she was asked by Scottish Labour MSP Mary Fee about figures showing one in four children had to wait more than four months for their first mental health appointment.
Ms Haughey branded the waiting times unacceptable'' amid reports of long delays for young "people who have attempted to take their own lives.
At Topical Questions in the Scottish Parliament, Ms Fee said: In June last year the Government tried to sneak out the audit report on rejected Camhs (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services) referrals, which found a belief among patients that, unless the situation was serious enough, the individual would not be seen.
"Nine months ago, Audit Scotland published a report on Camhs , which found that young people were not getting appropriate care until they reached crisis point.
"This weekend it was reported that a teenager who had already tried to take her own life had to wait a further four weeks to be seen.
"Given the seriousness and the urgency of the situation, does this seem like adequate progress to the minister?''
At the end of March, there were 26,740 children receiving mental health care, Ms Haughey told MSPs, adding it was testament to the work that Camhs staff do, "supporting children and young people at a time when they are particularly vulnerable''.
She added: "But there is much more for us to do, which is why I am looking forward to the recommendations from the children and young people's task force, and working with Cosla to set about how we address those recommendations.''
Ms Haughey said she recognised the distress caused to children and their families due to long waiting times but defended the Scottish Government, saying it was "committed to ensuring that children and young people get access to the mental health support they need''.
She added: "Long waits for Camhs treatment and support are unacceptable and that's why we set out in the 2018 Programme for Government a #250 million package of measures to support positive mental health and prevent mental ill health.
"We also formed the children and young people's task force, whose delivery plan was published at the end of December and who will be publishing their recommendations on how mental health services can be improved for children, young people and their families next month."