The Resilience of Mental Health Services

Part of 2. Questions to the Minister for Mental Health, Wellbeing and Welsh Language – in the Senedd at 3:06 pm on 2 December 2020.

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Photo of David Melding David Melding Conservative 3:06, 2 December 2020

I thank the Minister for that answer. Will she join me in commending the research carried out between Cardiff and Swansea universities, published last month in the much-respected journal Frontiers in Psychiatry? It's a single-nation study, reflecting on an earlier survey conducted in 2018-19, then comparing how people were feeling during the pandemic. It showed a three or fourfold increase in the prevalence of mental distress, with 50 per cent of the population reporting clinically significant levels of distress and around 20 per cent showing severe effects. The impact was particularly apparent in younger people, and we were talking earlier about the plight of younger people and their psychological distress. Quite clearly, there is huge pressure on mental health services now, and there will be one heck of a hangover, and we really must ensure that the appropriate level of resources and time here in terms of policy development is spent so that we have the best possible mental health services, both in the community and, unfortunately, those that are needed in the acute sector also.