There is a point there, yes, but, at the end of the day, we need more therapists, because we need more people to deal with the situation that currently exists, because waiting lists in this area are entirely unacceptable. And also, in dealing with drugs and alcohol and the abuse of those substances, we do need more professionals in this area, because there are also lengthy waiting lists in those areas, and that has major implications for mental health.

In speaking briefly about mental health problems among children, it’s very difficult in the Swansea area to refer a child to the CAMHS service. I’ve tried on a number of occasions, and, basically, they can’t be seen at all. This is crucially important point: in many areas, there is simply no service available, or that individual is just referred back into the education system, as we’ve already heard, and when they need to see someone who works in psychiatry that simply isn’t acceptable.

In terms of looking at this whole issue of mental health, there is a risk that we look at mental health in isolation. Well, it can’t be looked at in that way, and we’ve already heard that it’s a part of how we look at a person in a holistic manner: the psychological, physical and social aspects as well as the spiritual aspects. All of those things come together to actually make you healthy or otherwise, and every principle related to mental health must also be considered in physical terms as well as the social aspect of this.

In terms of co-ordination and collaboration across various services, we’ve heard a number of examples of this already, but I will just mention the police, because, in the context of some of the most serious problems we have in critical situations, when people have critical mental health problems where the police come into the process, it is very difficult on occasion to find a safe place for the treatment of these individuals. That, therefore, brings an overlap with the police and health services, and it would be far easier to deal with the whole situation across the board if the police service too were to be devolved to this place, because we are making policy here and discussing mental health services again this afternoon, but there are many aspects of mental health that are dealt with by our police forces, and they are currently not accountable to this place, and they should be. We should take every opportunity to ensure that the police service is also devolved to this place so that, when we deal with all of the health services available, the police should be part of that discussion.

But, fundamentally, what we want as doctors is early treatment for our patients, and that means more provision of health professionals, talking therapists and so on and so forth on the ground, so that we can refer our patients to them directly.