Shona Robison, Scotland’s Finance Secretary, announced ‘savings of £18.8million ‘ in the Distress Brief Interventions programme, student mental health measures and additional Mental Health Officer funding, and reprofiling the commencement of the Changing Places Toilet fund.
Billy Watson, Chief Executive of SAMH (Scottish Action for Mental Health), said:
“Scotland’s mental health is in a bad place. Every measure of mental health in the most recent Scottish Health Survey was down on the year before, and in most cases the worst ever recorded.
“We need to be careful not to over-interpret the data, but last month’s statistics on probable suicides showed a rise for a second consecutive year.
“Audit Scotland’s 2023 report on adult mental health services described a fragmented, complex and under-resourced system. New data for adult psychological therapies and CAMHS highlights an on-going failure to meet waiting times standards.”
Last week The Orkney News reported on the shortfall in Mental Health Officer hours being used in Orkney.
The Scottish Health Survey (published 2023) reports that there has been a gradual but overall significant increase in the proportion of adults reporting two or more symptoms of depression, rising from:
- 2008/09: 8%
- 2010/11: 8%
- 2012/13: 9%
- 2014/15: 10%
- 2016/17: 11%
- 2018/19: 12%
- 2021/22: 13%
The proportion of adults that reported having two or more symptoms of anxiety was 17% in 2021/2022. This had increased from 9% between 2008/2009 and 2012/2013, and 11 – 14% between 2014/2015 and 2018/2019.
The proportion of adults reporting that they had ever attempted suicide has risen from 4%in 2008/2009 to 7% in 2018/2019 combined and 2021/2022 combined.
These are startling figures.
In his Programme for Government First Minister John Swinney stated:
“Backed by £120 million of additional funding for NHS Boards, we will support continued improvements across a range of mental health services and treatments.
“This includes meeting the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services waiting times standard nationally and clearing backlogs by December 2025.”
Billy Watson of SAMH expressed his shock at the ‘disproportionate cut to mental health services’ announced by the Finance Secretary Robison. Commenting on Wednesday, 4th September on the Scottish Government’s Programme for Government he said:
“The Distress Brief Intervention programme has been one of a small number of success stories in mental health provision in recent years, helping tens of thousands of people in distress across the country, and today’s Programme for Government commits to supporting precisely these people.
“Two-thirds of college students and three-quarters of university students report low mental wellbeing. We are already short of Mental Health Officers, who play a crucial role in safeguarding the rights of people with mental health problems in the statutory system. Yet all three of these areas have been targeted for cuts.
“Today’s announcement in the Programme for Government of additional funding for mental health services comes in that context. We need assurances that that money is new – and even if it is, it will still leave us a long way off from reaching the Scottish Government’s existing commitment to allocate 10% of NHS frontline spend to mental health.
“We must have a clear and positive direction of travel to improve Scotland’s mental health, but instead we are getting mixed messages from the Scottish Government. There needs to be a radical change of direction in this December’s budget or we are in danger of seeing this mental health crisis spiral out of control.”
The Scottish Health Survey states: “Around one in three people are estimated to be affected by mental health problems in Scotland in any one year with levels of loneliness, anxiety and economic concerns having increased during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In June 2023, the Scottish Government published Scotland’s Mental Health and Wellbeing: Strategy which sets out key issues for action:
- A need for a stronger focus on prevention and early intervention.
- The importance of tackling poverty and inequality.
- Supporting person-centred and whole family approaches.
- Placing mental health and wellbeing on an equal footing with physical health.
- A need for increased community-based support and services.
- Increased and longer-term funding for mental health and wellbeing services, including for the third sector.
- Growing the workforce – developing a skilled and diverse mental health and wellbeing workforce which can operate at safe levels, and addressing talent attraction, recruitment and retention challenges.
The cuts to the funding of many areas of Mental Health of £18.8million means that the above issues will not be addressed in the way they need to be if change is to happen. Those key issues, ones which would make a difference, were decided after extensive consultation, including with those of lived experiences.
The promised actions in Scotland’s Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy to make ‘a real difference to people’s lives’ will not be achieved under these financial cuts.
