7. Welsh Conservatives Debate: Mental Health

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 5:59 pm on 14 February 2018.

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Photo of Rhun ap Iorwerth Rhun ap Iorwerth Plaid Cymru 5:59, 14 February 2018

(Translated)

Thank you very much, Deputy Presiding Officer. I move the amendment tabled in my name, which endeavours to add to and strengthen the original motion. We can’t overemphasise the need to have effective mental health provision for young people, and we can’t overemphasise the need to deal with the health problems of young people at an early stage, because we do know that, in the most extreme cases, failure to deal with problems can be disastrous, and suicide is the second most common cause of death among people in their teenage years. The suicide rates here in Wales are higher than in England and in Scotland, and the recent figures demonstrate that many of the young people who have committed suicide were unknown to CAMHS, or only had a very brief interaction with those services, which suggests that the current provision is a long way short of what we need to meet demand.