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Caithness campaign group founder claims NHS mental illness provision is 'woefully inadequate'


By Alan Hendry

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Steven Szyfelbain says he fears the real statistics on waiting times are 'far higher' than the latest figures suggest.
Steven Szyfelbain says he fears the real statistics on waiting times are 'far higher' than the latest figures suggest.

The NHS approach to mental illness has been condemned as "woefully inadequate and outdated" by the founder of a Caithness-based campaign group.

Steven Szyfelbain, of No More Lost Souls, spoke out after new statistics on mental health waiting times revealed that 35 per cent of children and 40 per cent of adults are waiting more than a year to be treated after being referred to NHS Highland.

He says those who engage with the group have told of lengthy delays, while he himself has been waiting for three years for a face-to-face diagnosis.

The latest Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) waiting times were released on Tuesday by Public Health Scotland.

The figures also show that 714 young people and 2441 adults were waiting for NHS Highland treatment as of December 31, 2021.

Mr Szyfelbain, from Wick, launched No More Lost Souls in July 2020 after a series of suicides in the county. The group campaigns for better provision locally for people struggling with their mental health, as well as seeking to end the stigma over talking about the subject.

"I fear the real statistics are far higher than the figures most recently published," said Mr Szyfelbain, who chairs the group. He said he stood by his belief that suicide had claimed more lives in Caithness than Covid-19.

"The waiting times, I feel, are directly responsible for the crisis that has engulfed the Highlands long before coronavirus dominated the world stage," he said.

"I can state for myself that I have been waiting three years to have a face-to-face direct diagnosis of bipolar type 2 disorder. This is only a supposition based on myriad phone calls to locum psychiatrists which have been offered in place of actual appointments.

"Those who follow the campaign and engage with us, from ages 18 to 80-plus, have reported waiting times from as little as six months to almost five years for one soul who ended up going private as no psychiatrist from NHS Highland would arrange to speak to them face-to-face.

"Simply put, you cannot diagnose mental illness via a telephone call or video screen, and those calling for these in place of actual appointments have clearly never suffered from this illness. No-one is so expertly qualified as to listen to a voice and know what ails them.

"Now it seems the current rhetoric is to blame the inability to make appointments on the pandemic, when in fact this situation has existed for the better part of a decade and more. Covid-19 has just laid bare how woefully inadequate and outdated the NHS approach to mental illness in general has truly been.

"We at No More Lost Souls would welcome some actual work being done to adequately address these issues instead of repeating what we have been saying since July 2020 – the Highlands needs help, before we become more statistics in another report they find 'deeply distressing'."

Lib Dem council candidate Ron Gunn says a clear plan is needed for mental health care in Caithness.
Lib Dem council candidate Ron Gunn says a clear plan is needed for mental health care in Caithness.

The Liberal Democrats maintain that a "clear plan" is needed for mental health care in Caithness.

Ron Gunn, the party's Highland Council candidate for Thurso and Northwest Caithness, said: "The SNP in Holyrood has continually promised CAMHS waiting lists will be cleared by March 2023. Yet this week's figures give us little hope that this will happen.

"One in three children in the Highlands are still waiting a year after they were referred. The situation is even worse for adults.

"We need a clear plan to make sure mental health care in Caithness is delivered promptly, consistently and locally."

Scottish Lib Dem leader Alex Cole-Hamilton said: "The 18-week standard has never been met by this government and it is clear that we need new hope for health. We need a detailed timeline to clear CAMHS waiting lists, backed up with fresh funds for mental health services and more local and accessible services and practitioners.

"Scottish Liberal Democrats led the parliament in declaring a mental health crisis, against the wishes of the government, and secured £120 million more for mental health last year. This week's figures highlight that we need to do so much more to ensure everyone in Scotland gets the support they need.”

Scottish Government minister Kevin Stewart pointed to sustained growth in the CAMHS workforce.
Scottish Government minister Kevin Stewart pointed to sustained growth in the CAMHS workforce.

Scotland's minister for mental health, Kevin Stewart, said: “While too many young people have had to wait too long for treatment, it is important to highlight that the number of people receiving support from CAMHS within 18 weeks (3195) is the second highest on record.

“We have specifically invested £4.25 million this year to help boards tackle backlogs in CAMHS care and it is encouraging to see they have targeted this resource to increase activity to record levels this last quarter.

"This has been made possible by the hard work of NHS staff and sustained growth in the CAMHS workforce. Under this government [since 2007] CAMHS staffing has increased by 83.4 per cent and we continue to create posts.

"Long waits for treatment are unacceptable and we remain committed to meet the standard that 90 per cent of patients begin treatment within 18 weeks of referral.”

On psychological therapies (PT), Mr Stewart said: "It is encouraging to see significant progress with PT waiting times with decreases in long waits despite continued increase in demand.

"Most NHS boards made progress with reducing the number of long waits for PT by offering treatment to those patients waiting longest in this period.

"We will support all boards to clear backlogs and meet the waiting times standard by March 2023. While this effort will likely lead to a temporary drop in performance as the proportion of patients treated who have already breached the standard increases, we welcome this improvement work by boards towards meeting the standard.

"These statistics show that, in the last quarter, activity in PT increased compared with the same quarter in the previous year. This has been made possible by the hard work of NHS staff and growth in the psychology services workforce.

"Under this government [since 2007] psychology services staffing has increased by 95.5 per cent and we continue to create new posts.

"We have provided an additional £9m to NHS boards in 2021/22 to address waiting lists for PT, with further investment being planned for 2022/23."

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