Adult mental health waits stretching to more than 1,000 days

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader and health spokesperson Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP has today said that the SNP have no plan to fix the crisis in mental health after new research by his party revealed shocking waits for psychological therapies across many of Scotland’s health boards, including a patient waiting more than seven years to start treatment.

It comes as part of a wider investigation by the Scottish Liberal Democrats into the state of mental health services. 

A Scottish Liberal Democrat freedom of information request revealed that:

• A patient who started psychological therapy in NHS Highland in 2024/25 had waited 2,736 days.
• In the same period, there were 57 patients who had waited more than a year to start treatment in NHS Lothian, as did 48 in NHS Lanarkshire, 42 in NHS Forth Valley, 36 in NHS Grampian and 22 in NHS Dumfries & Galloway.
• There are currently patients on waiting lists who have been waiting 1,400 days in NHS Highland and 1,022 days in NHS Fife.
• 215 patients are currently waiting more than 2 years in NHS Forth Valley.

Alex Cole-Hamilton said:

“For the past two decades, SNP failures have put mental health patients on hold, actively harming their ability to get the treatment and support they need in good time.

“With hundreds of patients still facing horrifically long waits, it’s clear the SNP lack any kind of vision or plan for fixing this crisis.  

“Scottish Liberal Democrats are the party of mental health. We want to drive down waiting times by ramping up training of mental health first aiders and new staff, as well as rolling out more specialists in GP surgeries and A&E departments close to you. By increasing the tax paid by the social media giants who cause so much of the problem, this could provide funding for these vital services.

“Scotland needs world class mental health services in every corner of the country. Next May, you can vote for a party who will deliver those services by marking a cross next to the Scottish Liberal Democrats on the peach regional ballot paper.”