Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 4:20 pm on 3 March 2021.
Since the onset of the pandemic, we've put arrangements in place to understand the changes in mental health demands in order to develop our planning in this area, and these arrangements include regular reviews of the available evidence, including population surveys, weekly meetings with health boards and regular meetings with the third sector. But I do acknowledge and accept the point that was made by Lynne Neagle about the potential disconnect that we have seen, and it's something I've been really concerned about—hearing one thing from people from the third sector, hearing something else in terms of the figures that you get in a kind of cold document.
It's really important for me that I get a better sense of what it's looking like on the ground. I've made a real effort to listen to the third sector, to listen to young people. I listened to a group of young people this week from Platfform. You'll be aware that I'm getting regular updates on the situation in relation to CAMHS—weekly updates on that—and it's obviously something that is a standing item on our agenda on the task and finish group. So, I'm trying to get a better sense of where we're at. It is important, I think, if people can keep giving me examples of where it's not working; I think it's really important that I get to hear about that so we can really address the systems issue if that's where things are falling down.
Of course, responding to mental health needs requires a multi-agency and a multifaceted approach, and it's not something that the NHS can do or should do alone. What we've done is we've strengthened our cross-Government action in the 'Together for Mental Health' delivery plan, with an emphasis more on the social aspects and those economic aspects that we have to bear in mind all the time—so, looking at things like health and debt and housing, education and employment. This game is far from over. We don't know what's going to happen when furlough ends. What is that going to look like? People are really concerned about what their economic circumstances will be, and we know there's direct correlation between unemployment and mental health issues, so we've got to be sensitive to what may come down the line. I have recently had the opportunity to discuss this with my Cabinet colleagues—that potential for the socioeconomic impact of the pandemic on mental health—and we all agreed that we have to have a concerted, cross-Government approach to stem what could be a potential surge in demand for mental health services.
One of the things I'm really keen to do is to put more emphasis and more support and more money into that tier 1 support, that tier 0 support, really supporting the third sector, demedicalising where we can the issues relating to mental health. We've been putting other measures in place, like online cognitive behavioural therapy, and it's great to see that over 9,000 people have already accessed this kind of support. Rhun was asking where people go for information.