Waiting times for child and adolescent mental health service (CAMHS) treatments have risen by over 300% at NHS Borders.
The figures were revealed in a written answer to the Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Health, Miles Briggs MSP. The figures show the average waiting time was 3 weeks in 2012-13 but has risen to 13 weeks in 2017-18.
Most of this increase has come in the last year as figures jumped from 4 weeks to 13.
According to the Mental Health Foundation, 1 in 10 children in the UK experience mental health problems. The most common conditions include depression, ADHD and eating disorders.
Commenting, Rachael Hamilton MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh & Berwickshire said ‘With social media, and other modern day pressures, there seems to be significant rise in the number of mental health problems in young people, which is very worrying.’
‘To hear that they are now having to wait for 3 months to see someone in the Borders is just not acceptable’
‘I will write to the Minister for Mental Health for an explanation to why there has been such a significant jump in so little time’