Dumbarton pupil, 10, left for years without mental health treatment

Ten-year-old Alan Galbraith has been waiting for his mental health treatment to start the entire time Humza Yousaf was Health Secretary.

Now his dad Robert has told of his fears if the treatment is pushed further back.

He said: “He is really up and down. He will have days where you won’t get a word out of him. We don’t know what’s happening unless something goes wrong.

“I feel like he is just being left. It doesn’t matter what happens with him.

“There has been an array of cancelled appointments. We expected them to give Alan a diagnosis, maybe start medication, something to help but there has been nothing.

“All we get when we phone is that ‘we’re sorry’.

“I cannot even begin to understand why Alan has gone from ready to start medication, to back of the queue, especially when it is a matter of mental health, and I really fear for what further delay will mean for him.

“We just feel constantly let down. We are very aware of the pandemic but there is just not an answer, all while my son and my family are suffering.”

Previously the Reporter told in June last year how two West Dunbartonshire children have been waiting for urgent mental health support for around 10 months.

The youngsters, and other local families, have been left to struggle with the likes of autism, anxiety and depression while languishing on a waiting list for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS).

And then in October the Reporter also told how the mum of an Alexandria schoolboy who has been left "abandoned" by children's mental health services after her son was referred to Child and Adolescent Meanth Health Services (CAMHS) in January 2020 and hasn't been seen since April 2020.

Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar raised Alan's story in First Minister questions last Thursday.

He said: “For children like Alan and their families, incompetence has consequences, continuity won’t cut it and more of the same isn’t going to improve their lives.

“There is a mental health crisis affecting children across Scotland, but they are struggling to access treatment.

“During Humza Yousaf’s time as Health Secretary more than 11,000 children and young people waited more than the 18-week standard for treatment.

“Shockingly, over 14,000 had their referral for mental health treatment rejected entirely. It’s not just two years of his failure, it’s sixteen years of SNP failure.

“This government has never met their eighteen-week CAMHS standard.

“When Humza Yousaf was Health Secretary, Labour repeatedly called for a new referral system so that no young person is rejected for treatment, for every GP practice to have a dedicated mental health worker and for a mental health A&E in every health board so that patients can be fast-tracked.

“But they failed to listen."

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “We absolutely understand the distress caused to children, young people and their families by any delay in accessing mental health support. Long waits are always unacceptable, however we have set the conditions needed for long-term, sustainable improvement to the CAMHS system.

“We have record numbers of staff providing more varied support and services to a larger number of children than ever before and we are now seeing evidence of significant and sustained progress, including continuing record levels of activity and some of the most positive changes in waiting lists we have seen for over half a decade.

“The number of children starting CAMHS treatment in this quarter is the highest figure on record (5,548, up 11.1%), and one in every two referrals to CAMHS is seen within 9 weeks.”