THE record of this newspaper on campaigning for mental health is second to none.

Our Mind The Future campaign pressed for action to help Scotlands young people. And the Scottish Government has undoubtedly sharpened its focus on the issue.

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But the problem hasnt gone away and it extends much more widely than our young people alone, especially in light of the effects of the pandemic on the nations mental health.

Scotland remains addicted to drink, addicted to drugs and, sadly, prone to suicide and self-harm. All of those things are signs and symptoms of a serious mental health crisis.

And though the SNP came to power on a promise of cutting anti-depressant use by 10 per cent, the number of people using drugs to combat their mood has continued to rise.

With thousands of people facing something like imprisonment during lockdown, the mental health crisis has only deepened.

The Scottish Government responded rightly with a dozen emergency mental health assessment centres, nine operating non-stop, in the first month of the pandemic.

But there are fears those services could be withdrawn as life returns to something like normal.

Ministers says they are exploring how best to develop the mental health hubs which sounds encouraging.

But money remains tight, the pandemic has left a huge backlog of postponed and delayed treatments and mental health has always been the ugly sister of the healthcare system.

Once and for all we have to change our attitudes and acknowledge that a broken mind is as serious as a broken limb. It requires treatment with all the urgency of any other wound or illness.

These mental health hubs have been a success. They almost certainly saved lives. We cannot afford to lose them.

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AS part of total Scottish Government spending, 3,000 doesnt even add up to a drop in the bucket.

But thats how much it cost to translate the FACTS campaign on Covid hygiene into three dozen languages.

For a nurse earning 28,000, the bill for translation adds up to six months worth of income tax.

Someone inside the Scottish Government seriously thought it was a good idea to make someone else work for six months in order to translate basic information into languages that virtually no one speaks.

Live Blog

Live Blog

Last week we learned that there is a black hole in Scotlands public finances worth 15billion and thats before we start paying for the pandemic.

These posters explain why.

The posters add up to almost nothing in themselves but they point to an attitude towards public spending which has led us inescapably to this massive national overdraft.

And that attitude needs to change.

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Coronavirus Scotland: Mental health hubs saved lives during lockdown and we cannot afford to lose them - The Scottish Sun