THOUSANDS of Scots are suffering in silence from serious mental health issues without help due to an “unacceptable” lack of support – raising the risk that they could lose their jobs, relationships and in worst cases their lives.
The Mental Health Foundation (MHF) Scotland warned that people nationwide were struggling with crippling emotional conditions like depression unaided because help through the NHS was “too little and too late”.
It said the official government target to start treatment within four and a half months of referral – which is missed for one in four adults – was “too long” to wait.
Lee Knifton, head of MHF Scotland, said: “There are thousands of people in Scotland who are waiting too long for help, or who are not even seeking support at all. A huge number of people are quietly suffering whose wellbeing and mental health could be improved with more investment in services, such as more talking therapies.”
The Scottish Government acknowledged the need to tackle “unacceptably long waits” and pledged further action so that people “only have to ask once to get help fast”.
Funding for mental health services had already risen by over 40% to exceed £1 billion for the first time last year, paying for record staffing levels, it added.
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