Mind Cymru urges Welsh Government to take action on addressing the root causes of poor mental health in Wales
Mind Cymru is urging the Welsh Government to lead a nationwide effort to address root causes of poor mental health as research shows the number of anti-depressants prescriptions in Wales has doubled in the last 10 years.
Mind’s first ever ‘Big Mental Health Report’, released on 13 November 2024, shows that many people are still struggling with money worries, job problems and other everyday pressures. These challenges are putting more pressure on the mental health system, which is finding it hard to keep up.
Its findings include evidence that the number of antidepressant prescriptions made by GPs doubled between 2010/11 and 2022/23 (from 3.5 million to 7 million) and prescriptions for medications for psychosis rose from 661,000 to 782,000.
The report brings together data publicly available from a range of sources relating to mental health, as well as insight and research from across the UK, to bring together a wider picture of mental health in Wales.
Research from the Bevan Foundation found that money worries affected the mental health of 44% of people in Wales and also made it harder for some to work. The Money and Mental Health Policy Institute also found that people with mental health problems earn around £8,400 less each year than those without.
Mind Cymru says these figures won’t change until the Welsh Government takes urgent action to help public bodies, schools, employers and other organisations in Wales work together in addressing underlying issues behind poor mental health, and ensure people with a mental health problem get appropriate support when they need it.
Sue O’Leary, Director at Mind Cymru, said: “The cost of living has worryingly become the ‘new normal’ for lots of people in Wales and financial worries we may have for the future are starting to take their toll on children and young people too.
“People from racialised communities are worried about access to training and employment, and poor or insecure housing conditions continue to exacerbate poor mental health.”
“We know there has been a gradual decline in mental wellbeing across Wales which pre-dates the pandemic and what this report shows us is that we have reached a point where everybody – from the government to public bodies, schools, employers and more – has a part to play in improving mental health outcomes for everyone.”
Combining publicly available data on mental health, stigma and discrimination with people’s first-hand experiences of mental health problems, the Big Mental Health Report is the first time Mind Cymru has produced a state of the nation overview of mental health in Wales, and is now set to be published on an annual basis.
It also includes research by YouGov, where people with long-term mental health problems shared their experiences of getting support from doctors, charities and other professionals. They also talked about facing stigma and unfair treatment.
The report also highlights:
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Almost two thirds (60%) of people in one UK study said that the cost-of-living crisis is hurting their wellbeing.
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In 2023, there were 75,816 requests made for a mental health needs assessment in Wales, with 13,248 of these for children and young people.
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The prevalence of anxiety for children and young people referred for school-based counselling in Wales has increased, with 12% referred due to anxiety in 2015/16 compared to 46% in 2022/23.
Simon Jones, Head of Policy and Campaigns at Mind Cymru, added that without greater transparency around the collection of data from public health bodies and other organisations it was still difficult to get a fully comprehensive overview of the state of mental health in Wales, however.
He said: “In order to understand how to tackle the rising level of mental health need, we need to really understand it first, and achieving this means having a clear, consistent source of information that lays out what’s happening, and what needs to change.
“The Big Mental Health Report is certainly a great starting point for this and we’re really pleased to be able to provide a nationwide overview of the mental health picture in Wales for the first time.
“Compiling it has also shown us, however, that as a nation we need to work a lot harder and smarter at identifying those of us who are more likely to experience mental health problems in the first place.
“There are a number of different factors that can cause somebody to experience poor mental health, or a deterioration of an existing mental health problem, and this report has shown us that taking a cross-government approach to tackling these issues is the greatest hope we have of creating a mentally healthy nation in the future.”
