Part of Portfolio Question Time – in the Scottish Parliament am ar 19 Mehefin 2024.
I thank Roz McCall for her question and for the attention that she is putting on the importance of the investment that we are making in child and adolescent mental health services. We have increased investment and we have increased support through the workforce.
On the figures that Roz McCall quoted of those who are waiting 19 to 35 weeks, that number was 70 in June 2023, and it was 41 in March this year. Clearly, for the people who are waiting that length of time, that is not acceptable, but we are seeing an improvement in those services. It is not fair to say that the decisions that we have taken have had no impact. They are having an impact.
It is also not fair to say that having their referral rejected means that there is no help or support for those children. As a specialist service, CAMHS will be the right support for only a small proportion of children and young people. The national CAMHS specification includes a clear expectation that children and young people whose referral is not accepted are sensitively and appropriately signposted to more suitable services.
We are investing and we are making improvements. I want to see those improvements happen faster, which is why—