'Extremely alarming': Figures show 164 children waiting over a year for mental health care in Scotland

There are 164 children who have been waiting more than a year for mental health services in Scotland – marking a 20% increase from this time last year.

An additional 253 young people have been waiting between nine months and a year for treatment with NHS Scotland’s Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS).

The Scottish Children’s Services Coalition (SCSC), an alliance of leading providers, called the figures “extremely alarming”.

“Each one of these statistics is an individual, and we would urge the Scottish Government to ensure the adequate resourcing of mental health services for our children and young people so that they can get the care and support they need, without lengthy waits,” a spokesperson for the SCSC said.

“We are facing a mental health emergency, and many of our children and young people are at breaking point, with stress and anxiety reaching alarming levels as they battle with the long shadow of lockdown and the rising cost of living.

“This is also having a negative impact on classroom behaviour, affecting the young people concerned, their fellow pupils and staff.”

The number of children waiting between five and nine months for CAMHS has increased since December from 424 to 499.

The only category that’s fallen is the number of children waiting between nine months and a year – from 283 to 253.

Most of the children who have been waiting for more than 12 months are in the NHS Lothian district.

NHS Lothian has the highest number of children on the CAMHS waitlist of any other health board, and it accounts for 88% of the children waiting more than a year for treatment.

Despite these figures, waiting time performance for CAMHS has passed its target for the second quarter in a row.

A minister said the service is on the “right path” as figures showed 91.6% of people started treatment within 18 weeks of referral during the first quarter of 2025, compared to 90.6% in the previous quarter

Discussing the CAMHS figures, mental wellbeing minister Maree Todd said: “We want all children and young people to be able to access appropriate mental health treatment as and when they need to, and this continued progress on waiting times is testament to the hard-working staff who care for those referred to these services.

“We have exceeded our promise to provide funding for 320 additional staff for CAMHS by 2026 and this will no doubt have contributed to the improvements we are seeing, but I am well aware there is still much to be done if this is to be sustained and consistent across Scotland.

“However, we are on the right path and the £123.5 million we have allocated to NHS boards this year will mean the quality and delivery of all mental health services – including CAMHS – will continue to improve.”

Alison White, Strategic Lead for Mental Health, NHS Lothian said: “I apologise to young people and their families who are waiting too long to start treatment from Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS). We continue to work to redesign processes and our teams remain committed to increasing clinical capacity to ensure that treatment is prioritised for those young people most in need.

“There are differences in the ways that waiting times are measured which accounts for much of the difference between Lothian and other Health Boards. We are currently working with the Scottish Government to rationalise these waiting times measurements in line with the guidance on what constitutes the ‘start of treatment’.”