This document provides guidance on the scope of the psychological therapies and interventions waiting times standard for staff that are employed by NHS boards and who deliver psychological therapies and interventions through health and social care partnerships (HSCP) and hospitals.

The Standard states that 90% of people should start psychological treatment or intervention within 18 weeks of referral.

This document sets out what constitutes psychological therapies and interventions (by services, teams, individuals, or digitally), defines the clock start and clock stop times and specifies how the waiting time from referral to treatment start (RTT) is to be calculated and reported to Public Health Scotland for publication.

General enquiries

If you have an enquiry relating to this publication, please email phs.psychtherapies@phs.scot.

Media enquiries

If you have a media enquiry relating to this publication, please contact the Communications and Engagement team.

Requesting other formats and reporting issues

If you require publications or documents in other formats, please email phs.otherformats@phs.scot.

To report any issues with a publication, please email phs.generalpublications@phs.scot.

Older versions of this publication

Versions of this publication released before 16 March 2020 may be found on the Data and Intelligence, Health Protection Scotland or Improving Health websites.

Last updated: 03 April 2024
Was this page helpful?