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Ben Macpherson MSP has welcomed the announcement of £150 million of extra funding for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) over the next five years, as part of the SNP Scottish Government’s Programme for Government. This will include £54 million to help improve CAMHS’s performance, against their waiting times targets.
It also includes a commitment of over £60 million, which will support additional school counselling services across all of Scotland. This will create around 350 counsellors in school education across Scotland, ensuring that every secondary school has counselling services.
The funding commitment follows the announcement before the summer recess of a Task Force on Children and Young People’s Mental Health, chaired by Dame Denise Coia. The work of the Task Force is backed by an initial £5m investment, in addition to the existing £150 investment in the Strategy.
SNP MSP for Edinburgh Northern and Leith, Ben Macpherson, visited the CAMHS services at the Pennywell All Care Centre in Muirhouse last week.
He said: “I very much welcome this much needed resource boost for mental health services in our communities.
“I recently met with the mental health team at the Pennywell All Care Centre, to hear first-hand about their vital work and find out more about the resources they need to best support children and young people in our communities.
“It is so encouraging that the taboo around discussing mental health issues is lifting, and that more people are coming forward for any help they need.
“This significant funding commitment shows mental health support is a top priority for the Scottish Government and will make a real difference, helping services like CAMHS give our children and young people the right help at the right time.
“I know many people in the constituency share my appreciation for our CAMHS staff, and I will continue to listen closely to the experiences of local mental health staff and service users as this funding is rolled out.”
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