There is a total lack of funding for mental health services in Scotland’s NHS. Personally I have waited over six months multiple times to access therapists or psychologists through the NHS. Clearly mental health is no priority for the Scottish government, as shown through the lack of funding. Funding these services is as necessary as funding the physical health services, especially after a pandemic. If you want Scotland to fully recover, you need to let us have access to mental health services without a month-long wait standing in the way. No one should feel pressured to pay thousands for a private psychologist, but currently that is the reality for most. Currently the standard for patient wait times is 18 months to see a psychiatrist, yet in 2019 only 72% of patients were seen within this time - (source: https://www.isdscotland.org/health-topics/waiting-times/waiting-times-statistics/ ). Scotland needs to aim for 100%. The lack of funding and support for the mental health departments of our NHS is strangling them and resulting in people with mental health issues going without support and often lacking in treatment. If treatment is offered waiting lists are so long you could go a year plus before anyone even gets in touch regarding treatments. With more people suffering due to the long standing pandemic I think now is the vital time to begin to fix these issues.
This content is created by the open source Your Priorities citizen engagement platform designed by the non profit Citizens Foundation