'We are drowning': Parents plea for help as children stuck on CAHMS waiting lists for years
Parents say they are left unsupported and in the dark due to years-long waiting lists to get their neurodivergent children diagnosed.
Parents say Scotland is facing a neurodevelopmental crisis as they are left “drowning” with no support for their children.
Thousands of children are currently languishing on years-long waiting lists to access help and support from the NHS’s Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS).
Parents say they are being failed by the system due to a chronic backlog which has seen referrals delayed and repeatedly rejected.
Mhari Douglas from Dalkeith waited four years for a CAMHS appointment for her 10-year-old son Jacob.
He has now finally been given an ADHD diagnosis, but Ms Douglas said the family was left “unsupported” for years after he was first referred when he was in P1.
“We were initially told it would be two years on a waiting list,” she told The Scotsman. “But it has been much longer than that.
“It is really difficult when you are struggling with your child, and it can be mentally draining for your child and you.
“It is very, very difficult to keep going when you are getting no support.
“He has been getting a private therapist because we want to help him and it can feel like you are failing them when you are trying to do your best.”
Ms Douglas said getting her son’s ADHD diagnosis meant she is “validated”, as many of Jacob’s struggles “go unseen”.
She said it is clear CAMHS staff are committed and “working under immense pressure” but said there was no support or communication offered in the four years they were left waiting.
Despite Jacob now having an official ADHD diagnosis, they have been told he needs to wait another three years before being able to take any medication for it.
“Enough is enough,” she said. “We have been at the end of our tether.
“Something needs to change.”
This comes as the Scottish Children’s Services Coalition says the government’s CAMHS spending targets are now “impossible”.
The Scottish Government had committed to allocating 1 per cent of frontline NHS spending to CAMHS in 2026, but new figures from Public Health Scotland show only 0.84 per cent (around £146.5 million) of NHS expenditure is spent on the service.
The coalition also thinks a separate commitment to allocate 10 per cent of frontline NHS expenditure to general mental health services is also unlikely to be met. The most recent figures suggest the funding stands at just 9.14 per cent.
A spokesperson for the coalition said: “These targets matter. They reflect the scale of investment needed to address Scotland’s growing mental health challenges and ensure that children and young people can access the support they need, when they need it.”
It says the government has a “critical opportunity” when it sets out its programme for government in September to reaffirm these spending commitments.
In the meantime parents continue to struggle to access vital support.
Stephanie and Dale McDowell from Perth say they have “hit rock bottom” after their CAMHS referral for their six-year-old daughter was repeatedly rejected.
They have since received a private ADHD diagnosis which the NHS refuses to recognise and they have been unable to seek a private autism diagnosis due to a lack of funds.
Ms McDowell told The Scotsman: “We have had to fork out thousands for a private diagnosis after spending months fighting CAMHS.
“We have submitted all the evidence we need, such as my daughter running away from school, running away from home, displaying extremely risky, dysregulated behaviour, police calls, ambulance calls, A&E visits and risk assessments from school but we keep getting rejected time and time again from CAMHS saying she doesn’t meet the requirements.
“We are now in absolute crisis mode.
“It feels like we are drowning and there is no one there to support us.”
The situation has been so difficult that Ms McDowell is now having to access the GP herself for support with her own mental health.
Both Ms Douglas and Ms McDowell have submitted separate petitions to the Scottish Parliament calling for child neurodevelopmental assessments to be drastically improved.
Ms Douglas’s petition calls for more resources and funding to support CAMHS staff and for maximum waiting times to be introduced. Ms McDowell’s petition seeks a guarantee of a neurodevelopmental assessment within six months of a child displaying risky behaviours.
Ms Douglas said: “We need more funding and investment, and more awareness of the different types of neurodivergence.
“At school it states ‘getting it right for every child’, but it is difficult to reconcile that when your child is waiting for years for an assessment.”
Ms McDowell added: “It is rejection, after rejection, after rejection.
“It’s basically ‘you’re not severe enough, come back when it is worse’, and that is not good enough.”
She has since set up a campaign group called ‘ABC - Assessment Before Crisis’ and is getting support from ADHD Scotland and Scottish Autism.
Ms McDowell wants the SNP government to recognise there is a neurodevelopmental crisis which is leading to many children falling through the cracks.
“So many families are being failed by a system that is supposed to protect them,” she said. “It is not good enough because our children are our future - no amount of funding is too much to invest in our kids.”
She added: “The idea that you don’t need a diagnosis to get help is an outright lie.
“There is blanket support out there, but not for things like one-to-one in schools, respite, funding and medication - that all depends on having a CAMHS diagnosis.”
Mental Wellbeing Minister Maree Todd said: “The Scottish Government is working hard to ensure everyone in Scotland, wherever they live, has access to the right mental health and wellbeing support.
“We are making good progress towards meeting our commitment to ensuring that at least 10 per cent of frontline NHS spend goes towards mental health and 1 per cent goes on child and adolescent services. Data for the 2025/26 financial year will be published in 2027.
“We have increased CAMHS staffing by 51.6 per cent over the last decade, and exceeded our commitment to fund 320 additional posts by 2026 — increasing capacity for cases by over 10,000. This investment is making a real difference to children and young people across the country.”
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