Vulnerable boy 'failed' by two year wait for mental health care
- Published
A boy who has waited more than two and a half years for mental health support has been failed by health services, his mother has said.
Charlie, a P7 pupil, has not heard from Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) since April 2020.
He was referred after posting on TikTok asking if anyone felt like they wanted to die because they were so different.
His case was raised at Holyrood by Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar, who said that CAMHS was in "crisis".
Nicola Sturgeon told MSPs that Charlie's case was "not acceptable".
His mum said he was referred to CAMHS in January 2020 but has not had follow-up treatment following an initial appointment.
"I feel that Charlie has been completely abandoned by the services which are meant to be there to support him," she said.
"It is really difficult as a family to function, knowing that he isn't getting the diagnosis and treatment which could make such a huge difference to his life.
"When I spoke to CAMHS recently, they said they were working on referrals from 2018 which is astonishing. That means, having had his difficulties identified early on in primary school, he could be in high school before anything is done.
"That is completely unacceptable. Our children are being failed and no one is doing anything about it."
Charlie's case was raised at First Minister's Questions as Ms Sturgeon faced criticism over the country's mental health provision.
She told MSPs "significant action" was being taken to address waiting times.
Allow Twitter content?
This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.
Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar said: "Without treatment, Charlie has become withdrawn and doesn't like to spend time with other children.
"His mother found a video he had posted to TikTok where he asked if anyone felt like they wanted to die because they were so different.
"Charlie's mum told the CAMHS service this, but they said it would make no difference to his waiting time. They told her that it could be another two years before Charlie receives the support he needs.
"This not good enough. Charlie is not alone. There are thousands of children like him."
Mr Sarwar told MSPs that Scotland's mental health services have been "in crisis" since before the Covid-19 crisis.
He said 8,873 children and young people have had their referrals to CAMHS rejected in the past year, with 1,248 now waiting more than a year for their first appointment.
"Even those who have had a first appointment are still not getting the treatment they need," the Scottish Labour leader said.
He added: "This government has never met its CAMHS waiting time and according to Public Health Scotland a quarter of all deaths of five to 24-year-olds in our country are from suicide."
His party is calling for the Scottish government to cancel cuts to mental health services in primary care and to guarantee cash for counselling in schools.
Anas Sarwar has urged ministers to increase funding for mental health services
Mr Sarwar urged ministers to commit to spending 11% of the NHS budget on mental health care - matching England and Wales.
He told also called for Ms Sturgeon to "create a new referral and triage system for mental health, so that no one is rejected".
The first minister said Charlie's experience was "not acceptable" and that she would be willing to look into his case.
She told MSPs: "It is the case that there are waits for children and adolescent mental health services that are too long.
"But it is also the case that there are significant action being taken that is reducing already these long waits."
She added: "Nobody is denying there is a significant issue here. But we are now seeing decreases in the numbers of children waiting over 18 weeks, the numbers waiting over 52 weeks as well and the overall waiting list is also decreasing."
The first minister said "significant" investment and increased staffing is "now having an impact where we need to see it".