About one in three calls to the NHS 24 mental health hub went unanswered over the course of a year, figures show.
The stark statistics were revealed through a freedom of information (FOI) request submitted by the Scottish Liberal Democrats, which asked how many calls made to the hub in the last three years were answered and unanswered.
The mental health hub is run by specialist nurses who respond to calls to 111 from those phoning at a time of crisis.
A response from NHS 24 reported that in January 2020 – the service’s first month of operation – just 45 calls out of a total of 2,226 went unanswered.
However, by June this year, 11,728 calls were received – with a total of 3,778 being abandoned.
READ MORE: Half of Scots ‘have suffered mental illness by the age of 24’, 'shocking' research suggests
Now, the Scottish Lib Dems have suggested the Scottish Government is delivering “broken promise after broken promise” as it revealed that from March 2021 to June 2022, some 61,538 calls were abandoned out of a total of 185,469 (33%).
The party’s leader and health spokesman, Alex Cole-Hamilton, said: “When it comes to mental health, all we see from this Government is broken promise after broken promise.
“In the wake of a pandemic and in the midst of a cost-of-living crisis, people all across this country are having to deal with enormous stress and mental anguish. Unfortunately, many people who reached out for help simply did not get it.
“The First Minister has admitted that these numbers were unacceptable, but neither she nor her Government are taking strong enough action to fix the problem.
“Scottish Liberal Democrats are determined to give new hope to everyone struggling with their mental health.
“We would roll out mental health professionals in every GP surgery and A&E department, put more counsellors in schools and ensure that training is ramped up so that every workplace benefits from a mental health first aider.”
An NHS 24 spokesman, said: “NHS 24’s 111 Mental Health Hub helps more than 7,000 people a month and is available 24 hours a day, seven days of the week.
“Many people who call the Hub will choose to end their call before speaking to someone once they have heard the full range of support options available. Callers are advised to hang up and dial 999 if they are facing a life-threatening emergency.
“Some will have chosen the mental health option in error, and because they have physical health symptoms, their call is then redirected. Other options provided include seeking information on NHS inform that has been specifically designed to support mental health, or to contact their GP if their GP practice is open.
“We recognise that at peak times of demand there can sometimes be a wait to speak to someone, however our aim continues to be focused on providing safe and effective care to all people contacting our services.”
READ MORE: Young people let down by 'postcode lottery' of mental health provision
Kevin Stewart, Minister for Mental Wellbeing, said: “The Scottish Government’s priority is to ensure everyone receives the best possible care and treatment from our health and care services. Demand for the NHS 24 Mental Health Hub has remained consistently high and since July 2020 they have responded to over 145,000 calls, and continue to receive approximately 2,500 calls a week.
“We have invested an additional £5 million in 2021-22 to support the Hub, with funding continuing into this year to ensure a 24/7 response. NHS 24 are using this funding to increase their mental health workforce and are continuing to recruit more psychological wellbeing practitioners and mental health nurses to further increase their resilience. The Hub’s performance is improving as a result of this investment.
“We continue to support the improvement of mental health across Scotland and have exceeded our commitment to recruit an additional 800 mental health staff to frontline roles as well as investing in more community services for adults and young people.”
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