5. Will the Minister make a statement on mental health care in North Wales? OQ55787

We expect all health boards to maintain essential mental health services and to monitor and respond to changing mental health needs due to the impact of the pandemic. And, of course, it's important that they respond to those changes. Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board has set out plans to do this in its quarter 3 and 4 operational framework reports.

Well, I hope that you're already starting to see the concern across north Wales about mental health services, and it's not just because of the crisis that we're currently facing but for historic reasons, too. You will know that deficiencies in the mental health services was one of the reasons why the board was placed into special measures in the first place, and many people feel that direct control by Welsh Government hasn't improved the situation over the last five years. And one reason for that, of course, is the confusion and the failures that there have been in sharing a very important report on one mental health unit, namely the Holden report.

The health board has failed to publish the report. They've failed to provide honest answers to families who are grieving. And, of course, they have hidden the truth that their own staff were hugely concerned that the care provided at the Hergest unit was deficient. And if the health board had taken action on this, then it's very possible that other scandals, such as Tawel Fan, would not have happened. So, will you commit to ensuring that the Holden report, which is now eight years old, is released so that we can ensure that we have a transparent and open discussion, and also that we have an inquiry led by someone independent like Donna Ockenden, so that we can reach the truth and ensure that this can never happen again? 

Well, Llyr, I hope you will give me some time to look at that report and to look into more of the background to this issue. But I'm sure you will be pleased to hear that an additional £12 million was announced yesterday by the Minister for health, which will go towards helping mental health in north Wales. They have their own mental health strategy within Betsi Cadwaladr and, of course, throughout the pandemic, the mental health services have been essential services, and they were open throughout the period, although I know there was a period when there was some talk in Betsi Cadwaladr that they weren't available. Of course, we put that right immediately in order to ensure that people were aware that those services were open and available. Also, just to say that there have been successes in terms of ensuring that there is improved joint working with the various organisations involved with mental health in north Wales. And, of course, there are other developments in terms of the I CAN mental health urgent care centres, and the idea here is that there should be something else available, rather than having to deal with these issues in a traditional way. But I will look at the Holden report and see exactly what the situation is here.

Minister, even before the present COVID-19 pandemic, loneliness affected as many as one in five people across the UK. Indeed, as we are all too aware, over the past few months our lives and daily interactions with friends and loved ones have changed considerably. Now, according to statistics compiled by the Red Cross throughout the pandemic, there is a strong correlation between engaging in meaningful conversations and people's confidence in their ability to cope with the present health crisis. Fifty-one per cent of those who last had a meaningful conversation over a month ago agreed that they are confident in coping, whereas this increased to 81 per cent for those who have had a meaningful conversation within the last week. With this information in mind, will you look to review the regulations around support networks, particularly to allow those elderly, unpaid carers to nominate a single friend to attend their property throughout any future lockdown? I've been approached by a number of people whereby they care for an elderly person or somebody, perhaps, with dementia, and they themselves need somebody that they can, perhaps, just speak to, have some conversation with, because it can be very difficult. So, will you look at that as an avenue to open, so as to allow support, so that that then helps the carer to look after their loved one?

Thanks very much. I think loneliness is something that is in the portfolio of Julie Morgan, but, certainly, I think there is a recognition that what we need to do is to make sure that there are opportunities for people to be able to overcome these situations. One of the things that's been quite interesting about the pandemic is that there have been some innovations. So, look at us all—we're all using technology now that we may not have used before for the kind of use that we are now using. That has been really helpful for some people who were dealing with loneliness. But I think we've got to recognise that there's a whole group of people who will not be able to access technology in the same way was we are. So, certainly, some of the funding that we've announced today is to go towards making sure that there are opportunities for people to access digital services so that it can help with their mental health.