Scotland’s mental wellbeing minister has announced additional funding for children and young people’s neurodivergence needs, telling MSPs a taskforce will be established to drive improvements across services.

Addressing the Scottish parliament, Tom Arthur MSP said people are “waiting too long to get the support they need” and the government is committed to improving this.

He announced an additional £500,000 will be invested this year to support the work of a new taskforce set up to make improvements to the support available to children with neurodivergence.

The announcement comes in response to a review into Scotland’s children and young people’s neurodevelopmental services, which found national standards are not being fully met.

First published in 2021, the service specification details what young people and their families should expect when accessing neurodevelopmental support.

However, the progress report this week says a lack of funding and growing demand has caused challenges in its delivery.

Some local authorities said attempts to implement the specification had led to ‘unintended negative consequences’, including increased waits, closed or restricted referral routes, unwarranted variation, and confusion and conflict between services.

Mr Arthur told MSPs a new taskforce, co-chaired by NHS Highland chief executive and City of Edinburgh Council’s head of education for inclusion, will focus on the sharing of good practice, data availability and the promotion of training, alongside implementing the specification.

He said improvements will not happen overnight and require collaboration, but reassured parents and carers support should still be available:

“This growing demand is placing significant pressure on services and making implementation of the specification challenging.

“We know children and families seeking support can be left worried or uncertain about what support is available to them and how to access it, fearing that without formal diagnosis, they will be left stranded.

“I want to take this opportunity to reassure parents and carers who might be worried that this is not the case.

“Support should be provided on the basis of need – not diagnosis.”

The ministerial statement comes after the Royal College of Psychiatrists (RCPsych) Scotland called on the government to “urgently” review and strengthen ADHD and autism services to deliver support at all levels of need.

Mr Arthur said the government supports this stepped approach, but recognised “significant work” is needed to deliver this.

The minister also acknowledged wider concerns about neurodevelopmental diagnostic waiting times for those who need medication for their ADHD:

“I understand that, for ADHD, medication can be important for some, and a diagnosis of ADHD is needed to access this, but non-pharmacological support can also be helpful and is recommended by NICE in the first instance.

“It is also important that children and families are able to choose whether medication is right for them.”

However, Daniel Johnson MSP, who lives with ADHD and says medication makes a huge difference, told parliament that changes to CAMHS referrals could be leaving many neurodiverse young people missing out.

Children and young people seeking a diagnosis of ADHD or autism without a significant mental health problem are no longer referred to CAMHS across Scotland.

Mr Johnson said this has created a gap in provision:

“The minister stated non-pharmacological support can be helpful, and people may choose to take other forms of therapy. But the reverse of that is also true that for many people like me, medication will make the biggest difference.

“Most importantly, how can you choose unless you have a diagnosis? You need that in place first.

“He also misquotes the NICE guidance. While it’s true it suggests for children, other forms of therapy should be pursued, it also states that if behavioural and/or attention problems persist with at least moderate impairment, the child or young person should be referred to secondary care that is a child psychiatrist or paediatrician.

“So, I ask if CAMHS isn’t the right pathway for diagnosis, what is? And when will that pathway be implemented?”

He urged the government to recognise that long waits and poorly defined pathways force many to go private in search of a diagnosis while those who “simply cannot afford” face additional barriers to support.

This comes as a national report found long NHS waits are pushing more patients private and driving inequalities, with doctors warning the NHS is “dying before our eyes”.

Mr Arthur said he knows an ADHD diagnosis can be “transformational”, but that waiting times for a diagnosis should not be a barrier to support.

He said long waits for assessment and diagnosis are “unacceptable”, welcomed the inquiry into ADHD and autism pathways and said he is determined to drive improvements with the taskforce.

The government is also set to host a cross-party summit on neurodivergence later this year.

The minister also recommitted to the long-awaited Learning Disability, Autism and Neurodiversity Bill.

 

Read more: Psychiatrists in ‘disbelief’ over cut funding; Edinburgh’s global neurodiversity meeting; Scotland prioritises neuro-inclusion, says government; Depression linked to poorer physical health outcomes; ADHD linked to childhood tantrums; Chief Medical Officer: ‘Critical connections' priority; Charting Scotland's future health and hospital demand

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