Sustained improvement in mental health care for children and
young people.
Scotland has met its Programme for Government commitment on
specialist children's mental health waiting times, with new
statistics confirming that 90% of children and young people
referred to Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS)
started treatment within 18 weeks of referral by the December
2025 target date.
The Scottish Government has invested significantly in CAMHS over
the past decade, with staffing increasing by 53%. The commitment
to fund 320 additional CAMHS posts by 2026 has been exceeded,
increasing capacity for cases by over 10,000.
CAMHS provides specialist NHS support for children and young
people with serious mental health needs. To provide alternatives
to this specialist service, over £80 million has been invested in
community mental health services, plus £16 million a year for
school counselling. From this year, £15 million annually will go
to local authorities to maintain community-based support for
children and young people who need it.
CAMHS waiting times of over 18 weeks are now at their lowest
level since June 2013 and CAMHS targets have been met
consistently for over a year.
Mental Wellbeing Minister said:
"Meeting our Programme for Government commitment on the CAMHS
waiting times standard by the December 2025 target is a real and
meaningful achievement. It has been made possible by the hard
work and dedication of NHS staff across Scotland who support
children, young people and their families through some of the
most difficult times of their lives.
"The progress is sustained and it is clear — waiting lists are at
historic lows with over 52 week waits dropping by over 30% in the
last year and half of all young people referred are being seen
within five weeks.
"I am encouraged by the real progress that has been made in
recent months to clear backlogs and we will continue to work
closely with those NHS Boards where some challenges remain over
the next few months as they complete this work.
"Despite progress, there is more to do, and we remain committed
to supporting all NHS Boards to sustain and build on this
momentum."
Background
Child and Adolescent Mental
Health Services in Child, Adolescent, and Psychological Therapies
Data March 2026
The national CAMHS 18-week referral-to-treatment standard was
introduced in 2014.
The Programme for Government and Operational Improvement Plan
committed to meeting the 90% standard and clearing backlogs by
December 2025.
Over the past year, the overall CAMHS waiting list has fallen by
7.2%. The number of children waiting over 18 weeks has dropped by
19.7% and those waiting over 52 weeks has fallen by 33.1% to 97.
Twelve out of 14 Boards now report zero patients waiting over 52
weeks and one in two children referred to CAMHS is now beginning
treatment within five weeks.
