Draft text for MSP emails

The text below can be used when drafting emails to your MSP.

Dear Member,

As my MSP, I am contacting you today to ask whether you will support the Royal College of Psychiatrists in Scotland manifesto for the 2026 Scottish Parliament election.

Scotland is facing a mental health emergency. Record numbers of people are seeking help from an overwhelmed system, yet too many are met with long delays or care that arrives too late. People are waiting months - sometimes even years - for support, treatment and care. Behind every statistic is a person: someone’s child, parent, partner, or friend, struggling without the support they urgently need.

Our mental health workforce is exhausted and stretched beyond capacity, unable to provide the continuity and compassion that recovery demands. We know what needs to be done - the time to act is now.

The RCPsychiS manifesto represents the collective voice of 1,500 psychiatrists across Scotland and outlines five urgent policy priorities to address the growing mental health emergency:

  1. Save lives: Halve the mortality gap for people with severe mental illness and learning disabilities by 2050.
  2. Invest resources: Legislate for the promised 10% of NHS funding for adult mental health and 1% for CAMHS, alongside a fully funded psychiatric workforce plan.
  3. A National approach to neurodiversity: Establish a fully resourced national pathway to ensure timely and appropriate support for neurodivergent individuals.
  4. Leadership in mental health: Declare a public health emergency in mental health, with leadership and action to lead us out of this emergency.
  5. Action on public mental health: Implement evidence-based interventions to address the social, commercial, and environmental determinants of mental health across the life course.

As your constituent, I urge you to support the RCPsychiS manifesto and its key actions. Your leadership on this issue could make a meaningful difference in the lives of people in our locality and across Scotland.

I also urge you to contact our Integration Joint Board and Health Board to ensure that local funding for mental health is allocated adequately, proportionately, and transparently.  

I would be grateful to know your position on this matter and look forward to your response.