Child, adolescent, and psychological therapies national dataset (CAPTND)
Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services Appointment 'Did Not Attend' (DNA) Report

About this release

This release by Public Health Scotland (PHS) presents data relating to activity in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) from the Child, Adolescent, and Psychological Therapies National Dataset (CAPTND) in NHS Scotland. The release examines total and first contact appointment did not attend (DNA) risk amongst CAMHS patients relating to the period between April 2025 and June 2026. Differences in DNA risk between population groups are explored to help better understand patterns of patient non-attendance in CAMHS.

NHS Orkney were unable to provide CAMHS CAPTND data for June 2026, therefore, the NHS Orkney and NHS Scotland data in this report are likely to be an undercount of true activity. 

CAPTND is a dataset in development that collates information for mental health services at patient-level and records each individual’s journey through the service from referral to discharge. CAPTND data are still under development therefore any inferences or conclusions from this analysis must be treated with caution, and should not be compared to the official aggregate CAMHS collection and waiting times. 

Improving data quality in CAPTND is an ongoing process, meaning data from previous quarters may not be directly comparable to the current reporting period. For more information regarding the data quality of this release, please see the accompanying data quality document. 

CAMHS are multi-disciplinary teams that provide treatment and/or interventions for children and young people experiencing mental health problems. Note that where a child or young person is waiting for an assessment for a neurodevelopmental (ND) condition such as autistic spectrum disorder (ASD), or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), they may not meet the national referral criteria as set out in the CAMHS national service specification and therefore will not be counted in these statistics. PHS is commissioned to collect information on CAMHS, excluding ND pathway activity. Please see the ND activity section of the data quality document, and the national neurodevelopmental specification: principles and standards of care for more information. 

Main points

For CAMHS data recorded in CAPTND across NHS Scotland, between 1 April 2025 and 30 June 2026:

• There was a total of 284,035 CAMHS appointments offered, with 25,643 recorded as not attended without adequate notification. This is a total appointment did not attend (DNA) risk of 9.0% for CAMHS patients over the 15-month publication period. 
• Total appointment DNA risk was marginally higher amongst females (9.1%) compared to males (8.9%) and typically increased with age, with DNA risk for both sexes highest amongst young people aged over 15 years old (11.6% for males; 11.5% for females). This pattern was also observed for first contact appointments, with DNA risk increasing steadily with age. 
• Total appointment DNA risk was around twice as high in the most deprived SIMD quintile as in the least deprived quintile. The total appointment DNA risk was 12.3% for females and 11.5% for males in the most deprived quintile, compared with 5.8% and 5.7% respectively in the least deprived quintile. A similar trend was observed for first contact appointments, with DNA risk increasing with relative deprivation based on SIMD.  
• Of the 284,035 total appointments recorded in CAMHS, 8.8% (24,859) were first contact appointments, with a first contact DNA risk of 6.5% (1,628 appointments not attended without adequate notification).
• Patients waiting more than 52 weeks for their first contact appointment had a DNA risk of 8.6%, compared with 6.4% amongst those waiting 18 weeks or less.

Background

PHS is continuing to develop CAPTND and accompanying narratives. There are plans underway to review reporting methods and include additional measures such as waiting times from CAPTND when the data quality of further measures is deemed sufficient. NHS health boards are working with PHS and the Scottish Government to improve the consistency and completeness of the information.

Further information

The next release of this publication will be 2 March 2027.