Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy: Initial Monitoring Report and Monitoring Framework

Summary Outcome 9: The mental health and wellbeing workforce is diverse, skilled, supported, and sustainable

Summary Outcome 9 (SO9) of the Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy focuses on developing a mental health and wellbeing workforce that is diverse, skilled, supported, and sustainable.

This outcome is essential to ensuring that Scotland has a workforce capable of meeting the growing and complex mental health needs of the population. The Mental Health and Wellbeing Workforce Action Plan outlines how the Scottish Government and COSLA will progress a range of activities and overcome different workforce challenges. This includes work to attract and retain staff, expanding training opportunities, and improving support for existing staff. 

The importance of a diverse, skilled, supported and sustainable workforce is reinforced by evidence that suggests that building a fit for purpose mental health workforce involves recruiting staff from a wider range of backgrounds, broadening the mental health skills and knowledge base across wider professions, and strengthening staff morale and retention within the sector (Anderson et al., 2021).

Defining and quantifying the size of the mental health workforce in Scotland is complex. Many roles span different sectors and services, making it difficult to calculate a total workforce figure, even within the NHS (Scottish Government, 2023b). Official workforce statistics are however available from NHS Education Scotland (NES) for those working in CAMHS and Psychology Services. This means that data is available for parts of the secondary care workforce who specialise in mental health. While this does not capture the entire mental health workforce across all sectors, it does provide robust information on key specialist services that support the population across Scotland.

Metrics for monitoring SO9 are grouped under four core components of the outcome:

1. A diverse workforce
2. A skilled workforce
3. A supported workforce
4. A sustainable workforce

Table 15 presents the specific metrics grouped under each component.

Table 15. Metrics for Monitoring Summary Outcome 9

Core Components	Metrics
Diverse workforce	Number of Whole Time Equivalent (WTE) CAMHS and Psychology Services staff by gender Percentage of CAMHS staff by ethnic group Number of Psychology Services WTE staff by ethnic group Number of Psychology Services staff with a declared disability Number of CAMHS staff in post by target age
Skilled workforce	Number of CAMHS and Psychology Services staff in training Percentage of CAMHS and Psychology Services graduates employed in NHS Scotland
Supported workforce	No metrics
Sustainable workforce	Number of WTE CAMHS and Psychology Services staff in post in Scotland Number of Mental Health Officers (MHOs) in Scotland Number of filled Consultant Psychiatrist posts in Scotland Turnover rates of CAMHS and Psychology Services staff Vacancy rates of CAMHS and Psychology Services

The following sections present each of these components and associated metrics in detail, offering insight into baseline measures and observed changes related to SO9.

1. Diverse Workforce

The first component of SO9 outlines that the mental health and wellbeing workforce is diverse. There are five metrics used to monitor this component.  

Number of Whole Time Equivalent (WTE) CAMHS and Psychology Services staff, by gender

NES publishes quarterly data on the gender profile of the CAMHS and Psychology Services workforce. The most recent data covers the quarter ending September 2025. For this report, figures are compared with the quarter ending June 2023 to establish a baseline aligned with the strategy’s publication.

As of September 2025, 1279.7 Whole Time Equivalent [1] (WTE) CAMHS staff were female and 207.5 were male. Women represent 86% of the CAMHS workforce. Analysis of the data shows that there has been a 10% increase in both female and male CAMHS staff since the quarter ending June 2023.

As of September 2025, 1414.8 WTE Psychology Service staff were female and 284.4 are male. Women comprise 83% of the Psychology Service workforce. Analysis of the data shows that there has been a 5% increase in female staff since the quarter ending June 2023, compared to a 9% increase in male staff. 

Percentage of CAMHS staff by ethnic group

NES publishes quarterly data on the ethnicity of the CAMHS workforce. The most recent data covers the quarter ending September 2025 and is compared with June 2023 to establish a baseline aligned with the strategy’s publication.

As of September 2025, 91.6% of CAMHS staff identified as White, compared to 92.5% in June 2023. While this remains the majority group, the overall ethnicity of the workforce has remained stable between June 2023 and September 2025.

• Staff identified as Asian, Asian Scottish, or Asian British increased from 1.9% to 2.2% of the workforce.
• Staff identified as Black, Black Scottish, or Black British increased from 0.8% to 1% of the workforce.
• Staff identified as any mixed background decreased from 1% to 0.9% of the workforce.

Number of Psychology Services WTE staff by ethnic group

NES publishes annual WTE data on the ethnicity of the Psychology Services workforce. The most recent data, from September 2025, is compared with September 2022 to provide a baseline prior to the strategy’s implementation.

As of September 2025, 1535.4 WTE Psychology Service staff identified as White, representing a 15% increase in WTE since September 2022. While White staff remain the majority group, the distribution across other ethnic groups has remained broadly stable over the same period:

• Staff identified as Asian, Asian Scottish, or Asian British decreased by 1.7 WTE.
• Staff identified as Black, Black Scottish, or Black British increased by 1.8 WTE.
• Staff identified as any mixed background increased by 6.9 WTE.
• Staff identified as other increased by 6.9 WTE.

Number of Psychology Services staff with a disability

NES publish annual Psychology Service WTE workforce data on staff who have a declared disability. Data is not available for CAMHS staff. The most recent data is from September 2025 and is compared with September 2022 to provide a baseline before the implementation of the strategy.

As of September 2025, 61.7 WTE staff in Psychology services had a declared disability. This is an increase from 42.3 WTE staff in September 2022.

Percentage of CAMHS staff in post by target age

NES publishes quarterly data on the target age groups served by the CAMHS workforce. Tracking changes in WTE staff across age bands indicates how well different groups are being supported. The most recent data covers the quarter ending September 2025 and is compared with June 2023 to provide a baseline aligned with the strategy’s publication.

Between June 2023 and September 2025 all age groups experienced increases in WTE staff:

• 0–4 years: Increased from 47.4 to 55.5 WTE
• 5–11 years: Increased from 347.3 to 388.9 WTE
• 12–15 years: Increased from 561.8 to 600.8 WTE
• 16–17 years: Increased from 382.3 to 421.4 WTE
• 18+ years: Increased from 20.7 to 23.2 WTE

2. Skilled Workforce

The second component of SO9 outlines that the mental health and wellbeing workforce is skilled.  There are two metrics used to monitor this component.

Number of CAMHS and Psychology Services staff in training

NES publishes data on the number of staff in both CAMHS and Psychological Therapies in training across different courses.

Data on NHS Scotland CAMHS staff in training is published twice a year, March and September. Between March 2023 and March 2025, the number of staff in training across different courses was as follows:

• Medical Psychiatry (Level 4) trainees: ranged from 24 to 29 staff.
• Doctorate in Clinical Psychology (CAMHS-aligned): ranged from 34 to 44 staff.
• MSc in Applied Psychology for Children and Young People: ranged from 36 to 39 staff.
• Child and Adolescent Psychotherapy trainees: stable at 5 staff.

Data on the number of Psychology Services staff in training are published annually. Between 2023 and 2025, the annual number of staff in training across courses were:

• MSc in Applied Psychology for Children and Young People: ranged from 36 to 37 staff.
• MSc in Psychological Therapy in Primary Care: ranged from 48 to 50 staff.
• Doctorate in Clinical Psychology: data are only available up to 2024, when 84 staff were in training, compared with 85 staff in 2023.

Percentage of CAMHS and Psychology Services graduates employed in NHS Scotland

NES publishes data on the proportion of graduates currently employed in NHS Scotland by graduation year. Retention rates are calculated as the proportion of graduates with a recorded National Insurance number who are currently employed in NHS Scotland at the time of reporting. Only graduates with an available National Insurance number are included.

Data are published annually, with the most recent figures available for 2024. While graduate data are available from 2006, this report focuses on graduates from 2021 onwards to provide insight into the workforce retention rates most relevant to the current strategy.

Table 16 shows that the proportion of graduates employed in NHS Scotland generally increases for those who have graduated more recently, across all courses.

Table 16: NHS Scotland graduate retention rates by course and graduation year, 2021 - 2024

Course	2021	2022	2023	2024
All Clinical Doctorates	75%	76%	79%	79%
MSc Applied Psychology for Children and Young People	44%	36%	65%	83%
MSc in Psychological Therapy in Primary Care	67%	56%	76%	85%

 

 

 

 

Source: NES

3. Supported Workforce

The third component of SO9 outlines that the mental health and wellbeing workforce are supported. However, there was no data identified to monitor this component.

4. Sustainable

The fourth component of SO9 outlines that the mental health and wellbeing workforce is sustainable. There are five metrics used to monitor this component.

Number of WTE CAMHS and Psychology Services staff in post in Scotland

There have been increases in the number of WTE staff across both CAMHS and Psychology Services. Data from NES reveals that for the quarter ending September 2025:

• CAMHS had 1493.8 WTE staff employed across all professional groups. This is an 10% increase from quarter ending June 2023.
• Psychology had 1702.0 WTE staff employed across all professional groups. This is an 6% increase from the quarter ending June 2023.

Number of Mental Health Officers (MHOs) in Scotland

The Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) Mental Health Officers (Scotland) Report 2024 provides data on the number of Mental Health Officers (MHOs) in Scotland. A MHO is a qualified social worker employed by a Scottish local authority who has completed approved MHO training. MHOs are specialist social workers who assess, support, and, when necessary, legally intervene to ensure the care, treatment, and protection of people with mental health needs.

As of December 2024, there were 765 active MHO posts, an increase of 58 from 707 MHO posts in 2022.

Number of filled Consultant Psychiatrist posts in Scotland

The Royal College of Psychiatrists 2023 workforce census provides a snapshot of the psychiatric workforce in Scotland as of 31 March 2023. It should be noted that only 11 of the 14 regional health boards [2] returned data for this census.

In 2023, there were 590 filled consultant psychiatrist posts reported across the 11 regional health boards. The number of filled consultant psychiatrist posts includes the total number of full time and part time substantive consultant posts, and total locum consultant posts.

Turnover rate of CAMHS and Psychology Services staff

NES publishes data on turnover rates for CAMHS and Psychology Services staff, both across the entire workforce and for selected professional groups. Turnover rates are calculated as the number of staff who leave the workforce during a year (outflow) divided by the total number of staff employed at the start of the year, expressed as a percentage. Turnover rates provide an indication of how secure a workforce is.

In CAMHS, the turnover rate for WTE staff in the year ending 31 March 2025 was 12.7%, down from 15.9% in 2023/24 and 21.7%% in 2022/23.

Among the largest professional groups, nursing staff had a turnover rate of 10% in 2024/25, compared with 10.2% in 2023/24 and 15.8% in 2022/23, while psychology staff had turnover rates of 17% in 2024/25, 24% in 2022/23, and 24.2% in 2021/22.

In Psychology Services, the turnover rate for WTE staff in the year ending 31 March 2025 was 10.7%, representing a decrease from 12.9% in 2024 and a slight increase from 10% in 2023.

Among the largest staffing group, applied psychologists, turnover was 4.9% in 2025, down from 7.9% in 2024 and slightly lower than 5.8% in 2023.

Vacancy rates of CAMHS and Psychology Services staff

NES publishes data on the number and length of vacancies in CAMHS and Psychology Services. Vacancy rates measure the proportion of funded or approved posts that are unfilled at a given point in time, providing insight into workforce capacity and recruitment challenges.

• In 2025, the annual CAMHS vacancy rate for all professional groups was 3.2%, down from 4.7% in 2023 and 8.1% in 2022.
• In quarter ending September 2025, the Psychology Services vacancy rate was 5.3%, down from 9.7% in June 2023.

Reflections on Summary Outcome 9

Summary Outcome 9 focuses on developing a mental health and wellbeing workforce that is diverse, skilled, supported, and sustainable. Most of the available data is from 2023–2025, providing a clear baseline and early indications of trends.

The CAMHS and Psychology Services workforce remains predominantly female and White. Male representation and ethnic diversity are gradually increasing, but minority groups and staff with declared disabilities remain underrepresented. These patterns highlight ongoing challenges in developing a workforce that reflects the population it serves.

Training and graduate employment data suggest that the workforce is increasingly equipped with relevant skills, with improvements in graduate retention and progression into CAMHS and Psychology Services.

Workforce sustainability shows positive trends, with increasing staff numbers and declining vacancy rates across CAMHS and Psychology Services. Turnover rates are generally falling, indicating improvements in recruitment and retention, although some professional groups continue to experience higher levels of staff movement. Overall, these patterns suggest strengthened workforce capacity.

Data gaps

There is one overarching data gap that limits the ability to fully monitor SO9.

Data across the range of support and services: While NES provides information on the NHS Scotland workforce, there is no comprehensive source capturing the wider mental health and wellbeing workforce across all sectors, including social care, community, and third sector providers. Similarly, there is limited data on the experiences and wellbeing of the NHS mental health workforce, including areas such as staff morale, burnout, job satisfaction, retention intentions, and confidence in delivering care.

 

Footnotes