Image source, SAMH

SAMH, external's submission summary: - 

• The numbers of young people currently seen and supported by CAMHS in Scotland represent a small proportion of young people who need mental health support
• Despite the investment in CAMHS workforce, there continues to be high pressure on accessing services; the majority of funding seems focused on acute rather than preventative services
• SAMH wants to see a wholesale review of CAMHS, and its extension up to age 25 
• Mental Health education in schools should be a priority, to develop life skills around resilience, to promote wellbeing and improve early intervention. Better teacher training in mental health is required. 
• The previous Mental Health Strategy was more focused on outputs than outcomes, with poor reporting of progress and no published evaluation to date.   

Rachel Stewart from SAMH says they are calling for a wider review of children's mental health services as there is about to be a new mental health strategy.

Ms Stewart says there is a rise in the number of young people using tier three services, but there is also evidence of an increase in tier one and tier two.

Question 2: What would you identify as the main reason(s) for the CAMHS waiting time target not being met?   

• an increase in referrals 
• the capacity of the workforce, poor workforce development and lack of specialist skills 
• the number of inappropriate referrals 
• increase in eligibility to aged 18 which has increased the patient pool in some areas   

Question 1 : What are the key factors that result in long waits for CAMH services? 

• the underlying theme of the responses to this question was simply that demand for services outstrips supply. 
• the British Psychological Society states that just 4.6% of the health budget goes on CAMHs and this is not enough to meet demand.  
• lack of alternative support services and early intervention/prevention
• recruitment and retention of appropriate personnel

More children getting help from mental health services

More children and young people in Scotland are being seen by mental health professionals.

New statistics show the number using services has risen by nearly a third in the last two years.

There were 4,642 children and young people seen in the quarter ending June 2016, compared to 3,560 in the same period in 2014. That was a rise of 30%.

Image source, Science Photo Library

A team led by Health Improvement Scotland is working in some of the board areas with the longest waits.

For adult psychological therapies, there were 12,779 people seen in the quarter, with 81.2% seen within 18 weeks.

MSPs will now take evidence on mental health services for children.

The committee will take evidence from— 

• Rachel Stewart from Scottish Association for Mental Health, external (SAMH)
• Sophie Pilgrim from the Scottish Children's Services Coalition, external
• Michael Gowan Member of the Scottish Youth Parliament, external (MSYP) 

Official figures, published in June, indicated the number of staff working in NHS Scotland reached a record high.

But the use of agency nurses and midwives has increased substantially for the third year running.

Image source, Thinkstock

Health secretary Shona Robison said the government was providing people with "the high-quality healthcare they deserve".

The Conservatives said the use of agency staff showed there were not enough people to cover essential work.

Image source, bbc

Scottish Greens MSP Alison Johnstone asks if those GPs that are in jobs are being given enough opportunity for development.

Ms Johnstone says this may be one area affecting recruitment into medicine.

Health Secretary Shona Robison says there are issues but career development is important and being worked on. 

Image source, PA

A warning Scotland faces a shortfall of 830 family doctors sparked fresh calls for Nicola Sturgeon to tackle the GP "crisis".

The Scottish Conservative party has urged the first minister to commit to spending more on general practice.

The Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) is forecasting the GP deficit will happen by 2020.

The Scottish government said Scotland had the highest number of GPs per head in the UK.

SNP MSP Clare Haughey asks about nurses who are leaving the profession due to the re-validation process.

Ms Haughey, who is also a mental health nurse, says she is currently going through the process and it can be quite complex.

The Scottish government's chief nursing officer Fiona McQueen says the government is working closely with the NMC on this issue.

Ms McQueen says nurses know they have an annual fee to pay.

The gremlins have been fixed and we return to the Health Committee. 

Sorry for the inconvenience.

We are having technical problems at the moment and are trying to get this resolved.

SNP MSP Clare Haughey asks what would be a normal percentage of vacancies because not all posts are going to be filled all the time.

The health secretary says, the more jobs you create, the more vacancies there will be. 

Fiona McQueen from the Scottish government says 4% would be a reasonable number but there are different factors to take into account.

Ms McQueen says a nurse may give four weeks notice and it takes longer than that to recruit someone.

Image source, Thinkstock

Last month a report from the Royal College of Nursing warned Brexit and growing patient demand are all leading to a "perfect storm" for nursing staff in Scotland.

The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) said the Scottish government needed to take action now to avert a staffing crisis.

They said rising demand and insufficient nursing staff were putting patient care at risk.

The Scottish government said the number of nurses and midwives had risen by 5.2% since 2006.

Image source, Science Photo Library

Lib Dem MSP Alex Cole-Hamilton says midwifery training places were cut years ago by the SNP and says workforce planning is only 5 years.

The Lib Dem MSP says workforce planning must look further into the future.

The health secretary says the government has increased nursing and midwifery numbers over the last three years.

Fiona McQueen, the chief nursing officer from the Scottish government, says over the last three years the number of midwives in training has increased.

Health Secretary Shona Robison says demand for health and social care is changing as is the way they are delivered.

Ms Robison says a sustainable workforce is required for the transformational change the government wishes to implement.

She says NHS Scotland has made "significant progress" over the years.

The health secretary says under the SNP government NHS staffing has increased by over 11,000.

Image source, bbc

At the end of September, Doctors from Scotland's medical profession told MSPs that GP recruitment problems were starting to affect patients.

The British Medical Association's Dr Alan McDevitt told members of Holyrood's health committee that "crisis is now manifest".

And Dr Miles Mack from the Royal College of General Practitioners said "the truth" needed to be told.

Health Secretary Shona Robison said she recognised the "challenging situation".

Latest figures show the number of GPs working in Scotland has fallen.

The Primary Care Workforce Survey, external also revealed that one in five practices had at least one vacancy.

MSPs will now take evidence on NHS recruitment and retention of staff.

The committee will take evidence from:

• Health Secretary Shona Robison
• Shirley Rogers from the Scottish government
• Fiona McQueen from the Scottish government

Conservative MSP Miles Briggs asks if we are headed for an NHS buildings crisis.

Health Secretary Shona Robison says there has been work done on the estate in the areas that required it most and there is a lot of capital investment.