Mind Cymru responds to Senedd report into lack of support for people with chronic health conditions
A new report from the Senedd’s Health and Social Care Committee shows that people in Wales living with long-term health conditions are not getting enough support from the NHS to effectively manage their conditions and enjoy better health for longer.
As a result, the Committee is calling on Welsh Government to refocus its efforts on delivering person-centred care in the NHS, with integrated services for people living with long-term health concerns.
The report comes with 21 recommendations, several of which focus on the mental health of people living with chronic health conditions.
These include calls for mental health support to be signposted for all patients living with a chronic illness at the point of diagnosis, and for training around mental health to be made available for all staff working with these patients too.
The report also recommends that the physical impact of living with a serious mental illness should be more fully recognised and calls for an update from Welsh Government on the Social Prescribing Framework, launched in 2023 to help better connect patients in Wales with community-based support services.
Mind Cymru, the charity working to achieve better mental outcomes for people across Wales, was among those who contributed to the Senedd’s Health and Social Care Committee call for insight ahead of the report being published.
Responding to its publication, Simon Jones, Head of Policy & Campaigns at Mind Cymru, said:
“We welcome and support the Senedd’s Health and Social Care Committee’s latest report and in particular its recommendations about mental health recognising the need to provide better support for both the mental and physical health needs of people living with chronic illnesses.
"We know from our own work that being diagnosed with a long-term health condition can be life-changing for people in various different ways, and much of what this report highlights we’ve known for some time.
"Mind Cymru has been working with the Stroke Association since 2023 to help people feel better able to cope with life and to feel less isolated after a stroke, and to help them feel more able to access the support they need to achieve this. What we’ve found is that the impact of stroke on a person’s mental health is well-documented, but there is still little specialised support available to people experiencing this.
"And while it’s heartening to see that our insight has been included in this report, we strongly support its findings that people with long-term health conditions in Wales are still not getting the support they need or indeed deserve.
What we need to see now is an outline from Welsh Government on how it plans to actively improve NHS support for people living with chronic health conditions in Wales and would suggest that the forthcoming publication of its new Mental Health Strategy presents the ideal opportunity to achieve exactly this.”