Questions Without Notice from Party Spokespeople

Part of 2. Questions to the Minister for Mental Health, Wellbeing and Welsh Language – in the Senedd at 2:52 pm on 2 December 2020.

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Photo of Laura Anne Jones Laura Anne Jones Conservative 2:52, 2 December 2020

Okay, thank you, Minister. Just a really quick one, before I ask my last question, is that, in a school in south-east Wales, they sent regular questionnaires to see what the biggest barrier was to home-school learning, and it came back that actual devices, not broadband et cetera, were the biggest problem, because when there's a parent at home, or a brother or sister at home, using devices as well, they are deviceless, so to speak. So, it's about getting devices to those people particularly, but I'm happy to send you further information.

Talking about getting help, I want to talk to you about getting help to those who really need it. There's a peer mentorship programme—I'm not sure whether you're aware of it—which now has evidenced benefits. There's such a programme in the Aneurin Bevan health board that has many successes. It's so reassuring for people across the board with all sorts of mental health issues to be able to talk to someone who's been through similar experiences, as they have. And that's what this programme is all about. Also, I saw, when talking to the nurses and patients, that the families benefited hugely from talking to people who had been through similar experiences as well and found it very reassuring to see that those patients came out the other side. A drop-in rehabilitation centre with these sorts of services and an online facility, especially during these times when it's most needed and we can't reach people like we normally do, is very much needed in Wales. There's more work going on with this in England, but I think we need to look at it more in Wales because it's evidenced now that it's having great success. The main source of money is coming from lottery funding at the moment, Minister, and I'm just wondering if you could look into this as something that you'd be willing to take forward and maybe work with the Government on. Thank you.