Support for Young People’s Mental Health
A Scottish Labour government will end the SNP’s “scandalous” failures on mental health support for young people, Anas Sarwar has said today.
The party has today unveiled a package of measures to improve community mental health support across the board, and in particular to ensure children and young people are no longer allowed to “fall through the cracks”.
In order to improve mental health support Scottish Labour has pledged to deliver:
- A new national neurodiversity pathway so that neurodivergent people can get the support they need instead of being lost in the system.
- A new system of support for children and young people immediately upon referral to CAMHS so kids don’t have to wait for the help they need.
- A dedicated Community Link Worker service in all CAMHS teams, to create wraparound support for young people on lists.
The party is also improving mental health care for adults too by expanding mental health support for those with mild to moderate conditions in primary care settings, improving access to self-referral pathways, and providing better support for neurodivergent people.
Commenting, Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar said “Under the SNP, too many young people are falling through the cracks of a broken system in their hour of need.
“Too many young people face painfully long waits for treatment at CAMHS while thousands are turned away altogether.
“It is scandalous that children and young people are being failed in this way, but John Swinney and the SNP have more excuses than answers.
“A Scottish Labour government led by me will do right by the next generation and fix the SNP’s mess in mental health services.
“We will expand mental health support in primary care and schools, help kids get help as soon as they are referred to CAMHS, and make sure autistic and ADHD children get specialist support.
“On May 7 we can end SNP mismanagement and deliver a Scottish Labour government that can get the basics right and make our NHS work as it should.”
Scottish Labour will deliver:
- A new national neurodiversity pathway so that neurodivergent people can get the right diagnosis and help instead of being stuck on inappropriate mental health waiting lists.
- Support for Children and Young People on CAMHS Waiting Lists: Children should not have to wait months or years for help. Pilot programmes delivered by SAMH show early intervention models can provide meaningful support from the point of referral. Scottish Labour will extend this approach by rolling out a dedicated Community Link Worker service to all CAMHS teams.
- Local flexibility in how services are delivered/targeted, from supporting children and young people on CAMHS lists to giving the right support following redirection or discharge from CAMHS. This support will reduce repeat referrals and, in some cases, reduce CAMHS waiting lists, as young people get the help they need sooner.
- CAMHS Community Link Workers will operate in health and school settings, working alongside school counsellors to be a trusted point of contact and help signpost to other services, such as bereavement, addiction, or support for families with multiple and complex needs. At the heart of this offer, is an approach that is tailored to the needs of pupil and informed by local services.
- Strengthened Mental Health Support in Primary Care: Every patient will be able to access appropriate mental health support through their GP. Provision will be tailored locally, with clinics led by trained mental health professionals offering regular check-ins, wellbeing reviews, medication management, and access to talking therapies.
- Improved Access to Self-Referral Pathways: We will expand the use of evidence-based digital therapies and self-referral options for insomnia and for anxiety. We will also assess the potential for scaling community models like SAMH’s The Nook.