6. What discussions has the Welsh Government had with Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board about mental health services in North Wales? OQ57254

Llywydd, in addition to ministerial oversight, there is regular engagement between Welsh Government officials and the health board as part of the targeted intervention that surrounds the provision of mental health services in north Wales.

Thank you, First Minister, for your response. I'd also like to take a moment just to point to the damning Holden report that came out last week, which my colleague, Darren Millar has raised with you earlier today, because it is such a significant report for my residents who I represent in north Wales. And, First Minister, this report is shocking. It does seem to point to a pattern of behaviour that stretches back many years. And as already highlighted, it was your Government that oversaw the significant failings of mental health services at this health board, and it's the same health board that you surprised many by taking it out of special measures just a few months before the elections in May.

Mental health is a key flagship policy of your Government's programme—indeed, in coalition with Plaid Cymru—for government, and yet, this report has shown that patients have come to harm and been neglected under the Welsh Government's watch. So, First Minister, how will you rebuild people's trust, especially the residents I serve in north Wales, for them to believe that you take mental health seriously? 

Llywydd, I agree that it is important to make sure that there is proper trust between people who use services and the provision of those services in north Wales and elsewhere. In my discussion with the chair and chief executive of the board yesterday, they set out some of the achievements that are there in mental health services in north Wales: the national award for Llanfairfechan's learning disability service and the fact that they are achieving their waiting time targets for psychological therapies in north Wales. And then they pointed to the challenges that the board faces as well; challenges in its estate, and the Welsh Government is currently working with the board on proposals for new investment at Ysbyty Glan Clwyd in the physical estate for mental health services there; looking at recruitment where the board has had some success recently in bolstering its consultant psychiatry provision; developing new models, for example, with consultant therapists; joint work with community mental health services to move intervention more towards prevention than dealing with the consequences of mental ill health; and a recruitment campaign in January to bring more people into that service.

The Chair said to me that the board were completely appraised. Independent members had a comprehensive grasp of mental health services and challenges, and the new chief executive said to me that she had a relentless focus on improvement in mental health across BCU. Those things, I think, will help to rebuild and re-establish trust, and I believe that the board and its executives are fully committed to that journey.