What do we need for a happier, healthier Wales?
In February 2024, Welsh Government published their new draft Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy.
This is an important moment to refresh mental health care and support in Wales for the first time in 12 years.
An independent review of the previous strategy, Together for Mental Health, praised its direction, but since many of the same issues remain in the new strategy, it shows that progress hasn't been made as expected.
Therefore we need more details on how the new strategy will be implemented and monitored. Given the current financial climate, it's particularly important that every investment has the maximum impact.
Much of the draft mental health strategy is positive, such as:
- Addressing the social factors that affect mental health and contribute to inequality
- Continuing to challenge mental health stigma
- Improving the quality and involvement in care and treatment planning
- Improving the transition for young people from child and adolescent to adult mental health services.
However, certain areas need more focus, priority, and action.
Supporting children and young people
The strategy needs a clear vision on the mental health system for children and young people.
An anti-racist approach
The strategy must include actions for an anti-racist approach in its delivery plans.
Data
All health boards in Wales must collect data for a core mental health data set.
Supporting children and young people
There are around 1 in 6 children and young people in Wales living with a diagnosable mental health problem.
Welsh Government must clearly define the vision, principles, and goals for children and young people in the strategy and delivery plans.
The strategy should:
- Have a specific vision that draws together what the whole mental health system will look like for children and young people.
- Identify children and young people as a specific strategic development priority group.
- Include actions to improve the experiences of young people moving between young people and adult services, as a key part of the first delivery plan.
An anti-racist approach
The strategy and delivery plans must outline clear actions to embed an anti-racist approach. While a commitment is welcome, there is a long journey ahead to ensure truly anti-racist mental health care in Wales. To achieve this, we must acknowledge where the current system has failed racialised communities and work together to create more culturally responsive services, starting from the margins.
The strategy should:
- Include a specific section relating to actions to progress an anti-racist approach in its delivery plans.
- Commit to developing a mandatory Patient and Carer Race Equality Framework to focus and guide actions to improve racial inequality in service provision and experiences.
- Include an additional principle that relates to engaging and being informed by a diverse range of lived experience.
Data
The right data is needed to effectively resolve inequalities in the mental health system. Without it, it is harder to identify inequalities within services and can limit access to care for those who particularly need it.
The strategy should:
- Be supported by Welsh Government mandating all Health Boards in Wales to collect data for a Core Mental Health Data Set.
- Commit to regularly publishing and analysing data to inform the strategy’s progress and effectiveness.
- Commit to publishing data on waiting times and targets, and review them to reduce over time, including updates in future plans.
Tackling stigma
While there has been significant progress in tackling stigma over the last 10 years, we know that there is still much work to be done, particularly on serious and enduring mental illness, and with diverse communities. The work of Time to Change Wales in this space has been invaluable.
The strategy should:
- Be supported by a Welsh Government commitment to fund Time to Change Wales beyond the end of March 2025.
Recognising the role of the voluntary sector
The mental health landscape has changed significantly in the last 10 years, especially since the pandemic, with mental health needs changing and becoming more complex. Over the last year alone (23/24), local Minds have seen a 27% increase in referrals.
However, much of community organisations’ work is voluntary, with limited funding options. The strategy should commit to funding a wider range of voluntary and community organisations.
The strategy should:
- Better acknowledge the mental health voluntary sector’s role in supporting those in need, and outline how it will be funded and supported.
- Be supported by the reintroduction of Section 64 national funding to drive innovation through the provision of voluntary sector support that can be scaled up through Local Health Board commissioning.
- Highlight the voluntary sector's role in showcasing lived experience, developing solutions, and providing oversight at all levels.
Your stories
“I can hand on heart say that my local Mind not only kept me alive, they kept me alive and in my home with my children.”
“Right now, I’d say that support just isn’t there, and this worries me, because so many young people are struggling.”
Time to Change Wales is the first national campaign to end stigma and discrimination faced by people with mental health problems.
At the heart of all our work at Mind Cymru lies the voice of people with lived experience of mental health and the mental health system.
We have published a range of reports which have all informed our response and its recommendations.
We have also worked with our network of local Minds, to better understand the experiences of delivering mental health support from a mental health voluntary sector perspective. The final response has been co-signed by 12 local Minds.
Finally, in preparing our response we undertook focus groups and a survey, leading to more than 400 people sharing their thoughts and experiences.
For more on our recommendations for the new mental health strategy, read our full response here.
