Children with mental health problems are still waiting too long for treatment in Fife.
A significant rise in the number of referrals earlier this year has been blamed by NHS Fife for its poor performance over the summer.
In June only 78.2% of youngsters in need of specialist help were seen within the Scottish Government’s target time of 18 weeks. At least 90% of patients should be seen within that time.
NHS Fife bosses hope drafting in extra staff, along with an extra Government grant, will help them meet the target by February.
In a report to the NHS Fife board, chief executive Paul Hawkins said: “There was a significant spike in referral numbers earlier this year, which has had a negative impact on our performance over the summer months.
“Poor performance against this target is primarily the result of a lack of overall capacity but there are also bottlenecks which are being addressed through minor pathway redesign.
“Current improvement plans are focused heavily on investing in additional staff.”
Therapeutic services for children in care will receive particular investment and school nurses will be trained to work with youngsters who need help.
This is seen as a key piece of work that will see more children and teenagers receive treatment quickly.
“Part of our allocation through the Mental Health Innovation Fund will be invested in additional capacity,” Mr Hawkins added.
“In addition the Scottish Government are still devising their allocation strategy for the new funding £85 million over five years some of which is specifically to improve access to CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service).”
Consultant clinical psychologist Dr Katherine Cheshire confirmed the capacity problem and added: “Redesign and development of services is really crucial.”
She said some of the new approaches being tried included the introduction of a family nursing programme to specifically target young women having their first baby and a series of parenting programmes.
“It’s not just working with children and adolescents that is important,” she said. “It’s also about working with parents on how they look after children with particular challenges, for example around autistic spectrum disorder.
“It’s a big piece of work and it’s really paying dividends.”