Shetland’s clinical psychology waiting list to be resolved by end of March 

Consultant clinical psychologist Mary Roberts.

Work to address long-running challenges in providing timely access to clinical psychology in Shetland is reported to be moving “very positively in the right direction”.

Elizabeth Robinson, public health and planning principal at NHS Shetland told today’s board meeting she expected there would be no waiting list for accessing the service by the end of March.

It follows long-running difficulties in achieving the 18-week target for referring patients for treatments. 

The service has previously been flagged “red-rated”, with less than a third or patients receiving treatment within that time scale. 

Ms Robinson said the recent appointment of new consultant clinical psychologist had already brought improvements. 

Mary Roberts started her role last year, when she said tackling waiting times would be a top priority.