However experts have said more needs to be done to ensure specialist support is available

A drop in the amount of young people admitted to non-specialist hospital wards with mental health problems has been welcomed.

Figures have shown that the amount of youngsters with mental illness admitted to non-specialist wards has gone from a high of 207 admissions across Scotland in 2014-15 involving 175 young people, to 71 admissions involving 66 young people in 2016-17.

The Scottish Children’s Services Coalition has said the figures are positive, but more needs to be done to ensure that youngsters receive expert treatment.

A spokesperson said: “This is still too many and children and young people under the age of 18 who need hospital treatment for mental illness who are not being treated in a specialist unit that is designed to care for their age group.

“We have raised this issue previously with the Scottish Government and are glad to see a reversal in this trend and note that services have been working hard across the country to address this.”

The charity coalition has said there are only 48 specialist hospital beds provided by the NHS in Scotland for adolescents with mental health problems, despite increasing demand.

These are located in three CAMHS inpatient units (Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow) and there is a further six place unit for five to 12 year olds in the Royal Hospital for Sick Children in Glasgow. There is no inpatient provision north of Dundee.