The mental health crisis facing young people in West Lothian was laid bare this week after a local charity reported that half of its clients are experiencing suicidal thoughts.
S.M.I.L.E Counselling, which provides free support to young people age 11 to 24 in West Lothian, revealed ‘suicidal ideation’, as it is known to healthcare professionals, was exhibited by a quarter of clients in 2020 – but now half of the charity’s clients in 2022 experience suicidal thoughts.
In addition to this, the charity also states that there has been a large increase in the amount of under-16s being referred for counselling.
Declan Harrigan, founder and CEO behind the charity S.M.I.L.E, said the reasons behind these sharp increases in both suicidal ideation and under-16 referrals are multi-faceted but that the pandemic definitely served as a catalyst for mental health issues.
He said: “In just two years we’ve witnessed one-in-four clients exhibiting suicidal ideation turn into one-in-two clients exhibiting suicidal ideation.
“There has also been a much larger increase in under-16s referring for support from S.M.I.L.E – the reasons behind this are
pretty multi-faceted, but the pandemic has definitely been a catapult for increasing mental health issues.
“Couple this with the rising cost of living, and these mental health issues for young people in West Lothian are only going to be exacerbated.”
The charity, which was nominated for Charity of the Year this month, fulfilled 2253 one-to-one counselling sessions last year – supporting a total of 361 young people in West Lothian.
S.M.I.L.E is predicted to take on its 1000th client next month – with the national rising cost of living exacerbating mental health issues.
The Children and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) are the NHS service dedicated to supporting young people’s mental health nationally, which is separate from S.M.I.L.E, an independent charitable organisation.
An appointment to CAMHS is made after a referral from a young person’s GP.
Waiting lists for CAMHS can often extend beyond four months for many young people dealing with mental health issues in West Lothian – as of last month 701 patients were on the waiting list, with 567 patients expected to be waiting more than four months for an appointment.
CAMHS also suffers from staffing issues, particularly finding specialist staff, and staff retention – this is a problem across Scotland for the service.
Tracey McKigen, Services Director, Royal Edinburgh and Associated Services , said: “We have been working hard to reduce waiting times for our Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) before and following the pandemic.
“Waiting times for our core mental health services are improving monthly and we are continuing to make improvements across CAMHS. We are recruiting for a range of positions across CAHMS and in response to the national skills shortage we have enhanced our recruitment campaign and have adapted existing roles where possible to cover a broader range of services.
“We would reassure patients and their families that we are committed to redesigning processes, increasing our clinical capacity and prioritising treatments for those patients most in need.”
CAMHS West Lothian also hopes to install Primary Care Mental Health Workers, an online wellbeing hub, an online consultation team, and a 24/7 Unscheduled Care Service.
Young people in West Lothian that have concerns about their mental health can get support from S.M.I.L.E by visiting their website https://smilecounselling.org.uk/
Those under 19 can phone Childline on 0800 1111, those over 16 can contact Breathing Space on 0800 83 85 87 – 24 hour mental health support is available from the NHS by dialling 111 or by visiting www.nhs24.scot.
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