YOUNG people across Scotland are being forced to wait years to access mental health services, new figures show.

Data covering 2024-25, uncovered when the Liberal Democrats submitted freedom of information requests to Scotland’s NHS boards, show that one patient at NHS Highland spent 1,189 days on a waiting list to begin treatment with child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS), while one at NHS Tayside had to wait 1,137 days — over three years.

Lanarkshire had one patient wait more than two years to be treated, while waits of more than a year were also uncovered at NHS Ayrshire and Arran, the Borders, Greater Glasgow and Clyde, and Lothian.

Scottish Lib Dem leader Alex Cole-Hamilton said: “The SNP have spent the last two decades ignoring the scale of the mental health crisis.

“Their failures are plain to see in all those children waiting months and years for the treatment they need.

“Making children and young people wait years for help only worsens their mental health; it is a sure-fire way to add to their pain.”

Responding, SNP Mental Wellbeing Minister Tom Arthur said wait time targets for CAHMS had “been met twice in a row,” adding: “We want all children and young people to be able to access appropriate mental health treatment as and when they need to.

“While long waits are unacceptable, young people in need are generally seen quickly, with the median wait being five weeks.

“We have exceeded our promise to provide funding for 320 additional staff for CAMHS by 2026 and this will no doubt have contributed to the improvements we are seeing, but I am aware there is still much to be done if this is to be sustained and consistent across Scotland.”