Psychiatrists

Part of Topical Question Time – in the Scottish Parliament at on 8 October 2024.

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Photo of Paul Sweeney Paul Sweeney Labour

Despite that, Scotland’s mental health has worsened, according to all measures. The most recent Scottish mental health survey found that the CAMHS waiting time target has never been met and that a total of 28,000 Scots are waiting for mental health support. We have seen the Government’s response, which has taken the form of an extortionate sticking plaster through more than £130 million being spent on locum psychiatrists over the past five years. As we have heard, health boards have been paying up to £837 per hour to plug the gaps. Does the minister’s idea of a robust NHS workforce strategy involve anything resembling such a figure? Does she consider such expenditure to be an appropriate and good-value use of taxpayers’ money?