Cole-Hamilton responds to Royal College of Psychiatrists warning

Responding to the warning by the Royal College of Psychiatrists that Scotland’s “mental health must not be dealt a hammer blow,” with 40% of Scots thinking it is now harder than five years ago to access mental health services, Scottish Liberal Democrat leader and health spokesperson Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP said:

“Scotland's mental health crisis is dangerously close to boiling point. Thousands of children and adults are waiting more than a year for treatment, staff are under immense pressure and patients are suffering.

“The Scottish Government have done little more than compound that crisis by freezing the budget, amounting to a real-terms funding cut.

“Today’s warning should make this SNP/Green administration urgently switch gear.  Scottish Liberal Democrats are calling for the rollout of more counsellors in schools, installing a single point of contact for those on waiting lists, ramping up training so that every workplace can benefit from a mental health first aider and delivering more mental health professionals in GP surgeries and A&E departments.” 

ENDS