Scots living in the poorest parts of the country are three times more likely to require inpatient mental health services than those in the most affluent communities, a report has found.
Official figures published by Public Health Scotland found just over a quarter of patients in 2020/21 were readmitted to wards within 133 days, a slight increase on the previous year.
In the last year a total of 8,800 patients spent one to seven days in non-psychiatric care - a drop of 3.3 per cent.
The most common diagnosis for mental health discharges was behavioural disorders caused by psychoactive substance use.
Concerns have been raised over the rising demand for mental health services in Scotland with waiting times massively increasing during lockdown.
The Record reported in June how the number of young Scots left waiting a year or more for specialist mental health treatment has almost trebled since coronavirus hit.
Scottish Labour is calling on the Scottish Government to step-up investment in mental health services - with the party warning the latest figures reflected reveal how "ingrained" inequality is across the country.
Carol Mochan, Scottish Labour's spokeswoman on mental health, said: “These statistics clearly show that mental health services are feeling the strain of the pandemic and the SNP’s complete failure to re-mobilise the NHS.
“That those in the most deprived areas are so much more likely to require mental health treatment goes to show how ingrained and damaging inequality is in Scotland today.
“The people of Scotland deserve a world-class mental health service, but it is clear that the SNP is not managing to deliver the service that people deserve.
“We need the SNP government to wake up to the situation we are in and take action, not just to support our mental health services, but crucially to tackle the inequality that creates mental health issues.”
The Record has asked the Scottish Government for comment.
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