MENTAL health services are struggling to cope amid an increase in the number of vulnerable patients being detained in hospital, according to the head of a government watchdog.
MSPs have received a detailed briefing on the situation from Colin McKay, chief executive of the Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland, ahead of a debate on the issue tomorrow (tue).
Mr McKay said a national programme is required to recruit and train more of the dedicated staff to avert a growing crisis in the sector.
"We are concerned about the pressures on mental health officer services. This service, as it currently stands, is struggling to cope with the duties imposed by legislation," he said.
"There are not enough well trained mental health officers in Scotland. Without action, the situation is likely to get worse. We make an urgent call for a Scotland-wide recruitment and training strategy for mental health officers in 2015."
Mental health officers are qualified social workers, trained in mental health care. They are employed by local authorities and help make decisions about compulsory admissions to hospital for people who pose a risk to themselves or others.
There were 674 officers in December 2013 compared to 698 the previous year - a fall of 3.4%.
In the same period the number of compulsory treatment orders or sections - which can deprive a person of his or her liberty for lengthy periods - rose from 4413 to 4530, the highest since the Mental Health Act was implemented in 2005.
Jim Hume, Scottish Liberal Democrats health spokesman, said: "Mental health has long been the Cinderella service of our NHS and that needs to change."
A Scottish Government spokesman said it had recently appointed a minister with the specific remit of looking at the issue and announced an additional £15 million funding for mental health services over the next three years. "We have made significant progress in recent years," he added. The suicide rate has fallen by 19% in the last decade, and we have introduced a new Mental Health Bill to improve on Scotland's well-regarded 2003 Mental Health Act."
"Earlier this year we also announced an additional £500,000 investment in education and training for front-line dementia staff. The number of Dementia Champions working in Scotland's hospitals and social care settings will rise to over 600 thanks to £120,000 over the next two years."
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