THE Scottish government faces calls to “keep their own promises” and boost child mental health funding, as targets have gone unmet for a decade. 

Public Health Scotland (PHS) figures reveal that 89.1 per cent of young people requiring Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) were seen within 18 weeks in the quarter up to September 2024.

The figure is up on the 84.1 per cent recorded in the previous quarter and the 75.6 per cent figure for the same period in 2023, but remains short of the 90 per cent target unmet since it was set a decade ago.

Despite a 20.8 per cent fall in waiting lists over the past year, 4,231 still await treatment, and 115 languished there for more than a year.

Children First chief executive Mary Glasgow said: “Children are often not getting support until they are in severe distress. This must stop.  

“The Scottish government must invest more in early help and support to prevent children reaching crisis point.”

Warning that real waits may be even longer, Royal College of Psychiatrists in Scotland’s CAMHS faculty chairman Dr Kandarp Joshi called on the Scottish government to “keep their own promises” and commit 1 per cent of NHS spend on CAMHS.

He said: “Working on the front line we see a postcode lottery of specialist mental health services across the country, but our vulnerable children and young people deserve so much better than this.

“Targets are missed but what we need is ringfenced funding and resources ploughed in at local level.”

SNP mental wellbeing minister Maree Todd said: “We are working hard to ensure that everyone gets the support they need, when they need it, so the continued improvement in CAMHS waiting times is very welcome.

“However, we know there is still more to do.”