THE number of mental health calls to NHS 24 has soared by a whopping 580 per cent in four years as Scotland grapples with a “mental health epidemic,” shocking new figures published today show.

Scottish Labour said that the data, obtained by a freedom of information request, shows SNP ministers must act now to protect austerity-hit mental health services.

NHS 24 received 139,008 mental health calls in 2022, up from just 20,434 in 2019, the figures suggest, while the total number of abandoned calls has risen by an eye-watering 6,200 per cent in four years – from 645 in 2019 to 40,836 last year.