Questions Without Notice from the Party Leaders

Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 1:52 pm on 18 June 2019.

Alert me about debates like this

Photo of Paul Davies Paul Davies Conservative 1:52, 18 June 2019

The First Minister's absolutely right: there are things that can be done better because there are concerns in Wales that there are currently only two child and adolescent mental health services centres open to young people in Wales, only offering a total of 27 beds. Now, the third sector has had their capacity reduced to 12 beds from 24, but due to concerns with standards at the centre back in July last year, Welsh patients were removed and the centre now only takes patients from England. As these centres are currently operating under restricted capacity or have admission restrictions in place, the child and adolescent mental health services centres in Wales are not effectively meeting the needs of high-risk patients. Some patients from Wales are being treated out-of-area, adding an additional burden on them and their families. Now, this limited capacity was actually raised back in 2013, and yet it seems to me that no progress has been made. Surely, First Minister, you agree with me that this is totally unacceptable. Can you therefore tell us what steps are you going to take to resolve this specific situation?