A new £1.5 million specialist centre transforming the way children and young people in Lanarkshire receive mental health care has been officially opened.
Maree Todd MSP, Minister for Social Care, Mental Wellbeing and Sport, this week opened the new Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) outpatient facility at Udston Hospital in Hamilton.
In her role as constituency MSP for Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse, Christina McKelvie MSP attended the opening, too.
The state-of-the-art facility, hosted by Health & Social Care North Lanarkshire, assesses and treats young people up to 18 years old with emotional, behavioural or mental health difficulties.
The bespoke designed centre provides specialist services including:
- CAMHS assessment
- Neurodevelopmental treatments
- Talking treatments
- Psychiatry
- Medication
A completely new facility specifically for young people, the new centre was developed with input from young people and their families, ensuring it’s tailored to meet their needs.
The specialist centre has been supported by investment from the Scottish Government Recovery and Renewal Fund for Mental Health.
Reacting to the opening of the new facility, Christina McKelvie MSP said:
“It is so important for my constituency that there are state-of-the-art facilities available that will meaningfully improve the mental health and wellbeing of children and young people.
“Mental health touches everyone, be it through personal experience, or through the experiences of friends, family and colleagues. I believe that one of the most important societal shifts in recent years has been that this understanding has widened and accepted by the vast majority of people in society. This shift has, and will continue to, prevent the silent suffering of so many people.
“This is a message that we must keep repeating – we cannot afford for it to be forgotten. It’s okay not to be okay and help and support is available to anyone that is suffering.
“This £1.5 million specialist centre will revolutionise the mental health care afforded to my young constituents, and indeed for young people across Lanarkshire.
“This centre also lays bare the aims of the SNP. We have always been focussed on improving the lives of people across Scotland, and naturally it is my job to ensure this is the case for my constituents. The investment in this state-of-the-art facility is testament to the fact that we can be trusted to make a difference.
“I wish to place on record my thanks to the brilliant staff that have made this centre possible, and most pressingly, a huge, heartfelt thanks goes to the staff that work in CAMHS. You do heroic, vital work, and I commend you for your generosity, sensitivity, and dedication.”