On BBC Scotland at 06:30am:
Humza Yousaf has been accused of negligence after it was revealed a key pledge to recruit an additional 1 000 mental health specialists has been delayed, Ministers confirmed to Scottish Labour the key promise that every GP practice would have access to a mental health and well-being service by 2026 has not yet commenced due to difficult decision set out in November’s emergency budget review.
This is another of these reports that appears on Reporting Scotland, Good Morning Scotland and on Drivetime but does not feature on the BBC Scotland website nor on the front pages. It’s a feed to BBC Scotland staff pals from an opposition politician and then used as ‘news.’
Look at the text. The actual target is 2026, three years away. How can the pledge to actually recruit the specialists have been considered delayed until after the target date, in 2026?
What about the actual situation, now? That’s be interesting?
As of 1 October 2021, 249.5 whole time equivalent (WTE) additional Mental Health Worker posts have been created in GP settings under Action 15. A further 216 WTE mental health workers have been recruited to date from the Primary Care Improvement Fund with a forecast of 298 by March 2022.
https://www.gov.scot/news/increasing-mental-health-support-in-gp-practices/
I can’t find any March 2022 update but it’s clear we’re not sitting at 0 out of the 1 000 but perhaps well on the way to achieving the target?
Talking-up Scotland 
“I can’t find any March 2022 update but it’s clear we’re not sitting at 0 out of the 1 000 but perhaps well on the way to achieving the target?”
Bearing in mind I am still dazzled by the newsreader’s kaleidoscope dress on the news from Scotland on BBC Breakfast earlier I found this from the Scottish Government’s Mental Health Strategy 2017-2027 (Published 30 March 2017)
“Access to treatment and joined-up accessible services”
https://www.gov.scot/publications/mental-health-strategy-2017-2027/pages/6/
“Workforce
One of the keys to ensuring that the principle of ‘ask once, get help fast’ is met is ensuring the right workforce is in place. We will be working at a local and national level, through Community Planning Partnerships, Integration Authorities, NHS Boards, training bodies, and local and national government. As well as increasing the supply of the mental health workforce with different skill mixes across different services, we need to make careers in mental health more attractive with clear career pathways.
Action 15: Increase the workforce to give access to dedicated mental health professionals to all A&Es, all GP practices, every police station custody suite, and to our prisons. Over the next five years increasing additional investment to £35 million for 800 additional mental health workers in those key settings.”
And then you have these figures from the link in your article.
” As of 1 October 2021, 249.5 whole time equivalent (WTE) additional Mental Health Worker posts have been created in GP settings under Action 15. A further 216 WTE mental health workers have been recruited to date from the Primary Care Improvement Fund with a forecast of 298 by March 2022. As of March 2021, there were 218 Community Link Workers recruited through the PCIF, which issues funding to Health and Social Care Partnerships via Health Boards.”
It adds up to around 680 additional posts created by March 2021.
Do you know if they are also a part of the 1000 figure..
Time for a coffee..
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Additional 1 000?
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Who knows!
It would make sense for those 800 posts mentioned in the Scottish Government’s 10 year strategy to be have been a part of today’s reports and give context to the ‘additional’ 1,000 posts claim.
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You hit the nail on the head with ” It’s a feed to BBC Scotland staff pals from an opposition politician and then used as ‘news.’ ”
The greatest “negligence” of all is when journalistic integrity and impartiality are abandoned, as the media in general and the BBC in Scotland in particular have demonstrated time and again over the last decade.
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More stats for context, this time on the professional staffing levels in Children and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) in Scotland.
When the SNP came to Government in 2007, the professional staff complement of CAMHS in Scotland totalled 599.4 (Whole Time Equivalents). By March 2011, the equivalent staff number had already risen to 857.5 WTE.
The number then steadily rose to 1,099.5 (WTE) in March 2022 before a steeper rise to 1,293.7 WTE by December 2022.
So since the SNP came to power, the CAMHS workforce by December 2022 across all professional groups had increased by 115%!
See graph at https://turasdata.nes.nhs.scot/data-and-reports/official-workforce-statistics/all-official-statistics-publications/07-march-2023-camhs/dashboards/nhsscotland-camhs/?pageid=8453
Still not enough staff to meet increasing demand or not being used efficiently enough to meet demand? Perhaps but for a Government – with restricted fiscal powers, limited borrowing powers and no monetary policy powers – having to allocate its budget across a wide range of public service needs and wants – each with their advocacy groups demanding more – it’s far from an insubstantial outcome.
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So BBC Scotland and Labour Party now criticise what the SNP and Scottish government have not done in future years !
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Criticism for SNP’s ”future failure ” is a bit like the Met Police arresting people who they think might commit a crime . What a rare talent !
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The BBC £6Bilkion for that nonsense. Half on superfluous estate. Full of Tory and Labour unionists.on the take. The wasted monies would be better spent on the NHS. Instead of UK Gov propaganda unit.
Tory council loses deliberately obscured by ‘Coronation extravaganza spectacular. Wasted £100million etc that could have been better spent. A tax evading multimillionaire being treated like a ‘God’. Devine right to rule. Unelected privileged time and money consumer. The biggest consumer on the planet lecturing others. Killing people. They pay 10% tax. No corporate, capital gains or inheritance tax. Tax evading BBC staffers commenting on others. Total hypocrites. The Westminster propaganda division creating unequally and unfairness. They should be investigated and exposed. Getting away with murder proving up a corrupt and vile establishment to line their pockets. Enough is never enough for greedy sychopants depriving the public purse.
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Thought crime is illegal. The cops getting away with it again.mThey are going to be sued. Another muck up.
The Police in Glasgow put two females illegally in cells for having a rape alarm. Then tried to pursue it through the Courts. A total waste of time and monies. Wasting £millions of public monies.
The Rangers fiasco, Alex Salmond show trial, motorhomegate. An absolute disgrace. Introduced by unionist enemies of the state. Wasting £Billion of public monies that could be better spent. Never ending demands for more public monies. After wasting £Billions on illegal superfluous prosecutions. Beyond belief.
A rapist – Arlington women in lobbies two streets was never caught. Despite CCTV etc.
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A rapist attacking women in lobbies two street away was never caught. PC plod.
Co habiting women do not have equal rights. Leading to systematic abuse,
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