Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 2:57 pm on 12 October 2021.
Thank you very much, James Evans. There were lots and lots of questions and points there, but, before I start to respond to you, can I just place on record my good wishes to Andrew R.T. Davies for a speedy recovery and to say how helpful I think it is to everyone that he has shown this courage in speaking out, as indeed Sam Kurtz did last week? In doing so, he helps everyone. So, I send him my best wishes for a speedy recovery.
If I can start with the points that James Evans made about our evaluation of the 'Together for Mental Health' delivery plan, that has begun already, and we've contracted with people to undertake that evaluation for us in as thorough a way as we can. Possibly there'll be engagement with stakeholders, et cetera, and that work itself is due to be completed by next year—by September 2022. And I think then we'll have to look at what we take from that evaluation, because, obviously, we're going to have to have new plans going forward. And I think, at that point, then, we would want to be engaging with relevant committees and with the Senedd to make sure that we're also listening to the views of everybody here. But it's vitally important that the plan we take forward is one that will work for people who are going to be in receipt of services.
You mentioned workforce pressures. The workforce pressures are very significant indeed and are something that I am focusing a lot of my time and effort on. The plan that will be consulted on by HEIW and Social Care Wales will identify in a very comprehensive way, I hope, where we need to have the different staff. We know that we've had some success with attracting psychiatrists to come and work in Wales, but we've got shortages in other specialities as well. So, that comprehensive piece of work that is being undertaken by HEIW should give us that full picture. That should be completed by the end of this year, and then we'll go out to consultation. But we aren't resting on our laurels in the meantime. HEIW are looking at what immediate steps we can take to fill vacancies in shortage areas. And I have asked officials to look at whether we can pilot a form of psychological assistance—rather than having fully qualified clinical psychologists, that we can look at earlier intervention with psychology assistance—which is being used very effectively in Aneurin Bevan University Health Board. I'm meeting them shortly to discuss what they are doing.
In terms of CAMHS, they continue to be a top priority for me, just as implementing the whole-system reforms of 'Mind over matter' is at the very centre of what I am trying to do. It's why I have come into Government, and I am completely committed to delivering on that. We have seen fluctuations in the average waiting time for children and young people to access specialist CAMHS during the pandemic. Data over the last 12 months shows that the average wait to receive a first appointment for specialist CAMHS is 4.4 weeks, and that ranges from three to six weeks. The latest waiting times data for under-18s primary mental health provisions shows that 83 per cent of young people received their local primary mental health service assessments within eight weeks of referral. We did see a sharp increase in referrals, but thankfully that is now showing signs of levelling off. Nevertheless, we are not complacent, and making sure that children and young people are seen in a timely way is a top priority for me. I meet with the vice-chairs regularly, officials have those regular, ongoing discussions with health boards to drive performance, and where I've had particular concerns about the performance of a health board, I have had a special meeting where I've gone there to discuss their performance and to seek assurances that they are addressing this matter as a question of urgency.
I note your welcome for the 24-hour crisis care provision. I think we are on course to deliver that. It's a big undertaking, a big change, but I am confident that we will be there by the end of this year, and we will be in a position then where people will be able to ring 111 for mental health in Wales. But below that, we're also undertaking an exercise where the delivery unit has been visiting all health boards to discuss the crisis services that operate for children and young people in particular, but across the board. They will be making recommendations about what more we need to do to improve the crisis support beyond that phone line. So, it's very much a major priority for me.
Thank you for your welcome for the joint working on the Mental Health Act. Clearly, it's important that, where we can work with the UK Government in a constructive way, we do that. You asked whether we should have a new law for Wales on mental health. My honest and considered answered is that, no, that is not the challenge that we face at the moment. We know what needs to happen. We've got the Mental Health (Wales) Measure 2010, which was made in Wales by a Conservative Member, Jonathan Morgan, who took that through this Senedd. Our challenge is to ensure that we are delivering across the whole system. So, I don't think that it's about legislation per se, but we are very happy to build on the legislative opportunities that are arising where they present themselves.
Finally, in terms of my priorities, my priority is to ensure that everybody in Wales, but especially children and young people, can get access to timely mental health support when they need it, at the same time as we are shifting the whole system in Wales to one of prevention and early intervention, so that fewer people need to access those specialist services in the first place. So, that is what is driving my work and what is taking up my time. Thank you.