7. Welsh Conservatives Debate: Child and adolescent mental health

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 5:56 pm on 18 May 2022.

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Photo of Rhun ap Iorwerth Rhun ap Iorwerth Plaid Cymru 5:56, 18 May 2022

(Translated)

We've spoken a great deal about health inequalities recently. We spoke about them in the context of women's health a few minutes ago. The inequalities that people with serious mental illness face are very significant. They're more likely to face physical health issues and they die, on average, 15 to 20 years younger. It's estimated that two out of three people with serious mental illnesses die as a result of preventable physical conditions. So, we have to ensure that there's careful monitoring of the physical health of people who are suffering.

Part 2 of the Mental Health (Wales) Measure 2010 says that every young person receiving healthcare from a specialist child and adolescent mental health service should have a comprehensive care and treatment plan to help them to recover. It appears that many young people don't even know about that. 

Dirprwy Lywydd, in closing, we can't support the Government's amendment today. Even though there is good work being done in some areas, we can't just accept things as they are. It would be a mistake to do that. Even though we have our own amendment and I have explained the importance of what is mentioned there, it's possible that we might not even get to that stage, so what we will do today is we will support the original motion as it is laid out to increase the chance of receiving support for some of those core principles that are in that original motion.

There are so many things that we could touch on when we talk about mental health, but I'm pleased to be able to make those few comments there.