At our Scottish Liberal Democrat conference on Saturday in Dunfermline I was delighted to support a motion led by Alison McInnes MSP in an emergency debate which focused on the need to better support children and young people with mental illness. It is a sensitive subject but one which demands urgent attention and action and I pleased that our party see the need to pursue the Scottish Government on this. Ten per cent of children have mental health problems that are so significant they impact on their daily lives. Without proper support and treatment, the impact can be devastating. However, it was recently revealed there is just one dedicated Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) bed across the entire North and North East. This means a young person in Grampian with severe and complex mental health problems is either treated at home, on adult wards or at a unit in Dundee. To make it worse, many are waiting upwards of six months to receive the treatment they so desperately need.
Conference overwhelmingly backed the motion. The Scottish Children’s Services Coalition today also declared its support for our efforts. Alison will now urge the Scottish Government to focus on transforming mental health services. It must do more to support health boards reduce waiting times and provide local dedicated mental health beds for our young people.