Annual compendium of Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services, and Psychological Therapies Waiting Times
A focus on the impact of COVID-19

About this release

This release by Public Health Scotland (PHS) looks at outpatient mental health services at a Scotland level, over the period January 2020 to December 2022 covering the periods of national lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Accompanying this release are a set of board focused infographics looking at key statistics for the period covering 2022.

Main points

• All Scottish NHS Health Boards quickly adapted their CAMHS and PT delivery models to accommodate the COVID-19 social restrictions. Therefore, patient access to these Services was relatively uninterrupted.
• Referrals to both CAMHS and PT Services increased between 2020 and 2022, with no noticeable reduction in the proportion of referrals accepted into Services.

Virtual appointments were quickly adopted by mental health services and remained a method of use as the country returned from lockdown restrictions.

• Face-to-face appointments were the main method of delivery for both CAMHS and Psychological Therapy services before lockdown.
• By May 2022, CAMHS face-to-face appointments had returned to levels seen before the first national lockdown.
• Video appointments made up a third of all psychological therapy appointments (35%) by February 2021.

Background

Quarterly reports for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service Waiting Times and Psychological Therapies Waiting Times can be found on the Public Health Scotland website.