Cut to mental health waiting list is praised

Government minister hails CAMHS improvements

- STUART MCFARLANE

Recent steps taken in Forth Valley to cut down on waiting times for children and young people seeking vital mental health support have been praised on a visit by a Scottish Government minister.

Waiting times for the region's Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services had been a previous area of crisis for local health chiefs, with ministers placing it into direct oversight over a number of concerns, including the state of the CAMHS offering.

At that point in November 2022, more than 40 per cent of those still waiting for assessment by CAMHS had been doing so for more than a year.

But following concerted efforts and a new plan to tackle the service's waiting times, the most recent figures for the first quarter of 2025 have revealed a major turnaround, with no patients now waiting more than the national standard of 18 weeks for support.