SCOTTISH Labour has warned that mental health services in Scotland are at breaking point after more than 7,000 children and young people had their referrals rejected in the first nine months of 2023.

The 7,059 figure is the equivalent of 26 children being turned away from the Child & Adolescent Mental Health Services (Camhs) daily.

There were 28,285 referrals in the year to the end of September, Public Health Scotland said, with a quarter of those rejected.

At least 500 children were denied help from the specialist mental health service in every month of 2023, with the 992 turned away in July the highest of the year so far.

In September, the most recent month included in the figures, 792 children referred to the service failed to gain support, bringing the official figure for rejections in the three months ending September 2023 to 27 per cent.

Scottish Labour’s mental health spokesman Paul Sweeney said: “Scotland is in the grip of a mental health crisis, but hundreds of children and young people are being turned away from services every month.

“NHS staff are working tirelessly to deliver the care children and young people need, but services are at breaking point because of the SNP’s mismanagement.

“We cannot allow struggling young people to fall through the cracks: the SNP must ensure that Camhs services can cope and children can get the support they need.

“Scottish Labour will continue to call for better mental health services across the board, including a dedicated mental health worker in every GP surgery and an increase in the proportion of the health budget spent on mental health.”

The Scottish government has been asked for comment.