The leader of the Royal College of Psychiatrists in Scotland is urging politicians to view mental and physical health the same ahead of Thursday’s election.
Dr Jane Morris, the chair of the Royal College of Psychiatrists in Scotland, said the country is “failing some of its most unwell citizens” and is calling on parties to give mental parity to mental and physical health in funding, access and accountability.
Dr Morris said: “There is no health without mental health – and Scotland is currently failing some of its most unwell citizens.
“People with severe mental illnesses still die, on average, 15 to 20 years earlier than the rest of the population.
“Most of these deaths are not from suicide, but from preventable physical illness. That is not a mystery or a tragedy beyond our control.
“It is the foreseeable result of underinvestment, structural discrimination and systems that do not reach those who need them most.”
The psychiatrist went on to say that when services are stretched, people with the most complex needs are pushed furthest into the margins.
She added: “Putting mental illness on an equal footing with physical illness should be an election test, not an afterthought.
“What happens in the first year of the next parliamentary term will determine whether Scotland finally addresses its mental health emergency – or quietly accepts worsening outcomes and lost potential.
“Psychiatrists stand ready to work on a cross‑party basis with the next government to rebuild mental health services in line with evidence, compassion and clinical expertise.
“The cost of delay will be measured in lives.”
Scottish Conservatives health spokesman and Glasgow Anniesland candidate, Dr Sandesh Gulhane said: “Mental health is just one area of the NHS where the SNP have failed Scots for too long.
“We would team up with Scottish Action for Mental Health to roll out walk-in mental health hubs across Scotland, based on their very successful Nook centre.
“Scottish Conservatives would also establish Scotland’s first dedicated mental health centre for veterans, staffed by experts.”
Clare Haughey, the SNP candidate for Rutherglen and Cambuslang and a mental health nurse, said: “More people than ever before are needing mental health support but under the SNP, our NHS has a record number of staff employed to provide mental health support and our mental health budget for the year exceeds £1.5 billion.
“Anas Sarwar and his Labour MSPs failed to back this in Parliament when they had the chance – and they now want to slash £1 billion from Scotland’s NHS which would cut support for people who need it.
“In contrast, a re-elected SNP government will expand Scotland’s NHS 24 Mental Health Hub to include psychological therapies, and we will also invest an additional £3.5 million this year to make it easier for people to get the help they need.”
Scottish Labour deputy leader Dame Jackie Baillie said mental health care had been “neglected” under the SNP.
She said: “These stark warnings must be listened to, but the only way to deliver the change we need is with a change in government.
“A Scottish Labour government will set up a new 24/7 emergency mental health service, boost the proportion of funding for mental health, expand mental health support in primary care and make sure kids get help as soon as they are referred to CAMHS.”
Meanwhile, Scottish Lib Dems leader Alex Cole-Hamilton said: “The Scottish Government’s record has never matched up to their rhetoric.
“Scottish Liberal Democrats would put more mental health professionals in local GP surgeries to get people seen quicker and deliver walk-in mental health services for those in a crisis.
“We would also create new dedicated mental health beds for children and young people north of Dundee, ending the scandal of long journeys for treatment and people being separated from their support networks and abolishing so-called rejected referrals by integrating Child & Adolescent Mental Health Services into a new wider system of multi-disciplinary support.”
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