Part of 2. Questions to the Minister for Health and Social Services – in the Senedd at 2:56 pm on 15 June 2022.
Thank you very much, Delyth, for that important question, and, as you highlight, it has been really difficult to have a new baby during lockdown. I think we all recognise that, and you'll recall that I led a debate in this Chamber as a backbencher on babies in lockdown. So, we are very cognisant in Welsh Government of the challenges. I know that perinatal services adapted really quickly to the pandemic, although some of that work was, by necessity, undertaken on a virtual basis, and the same was true with health visitors. But we are very mindful of what families have been through. Services are getting back on track. We've invested very significantly in our tier 0 and lower level support for anyone with mental health issues, and we've also made additional funding available for 2022–23 to support services most impacted by the pandemic and key priority areas in our 'Together for Mental Health' strategy, and that includes perinatal mental health services, which are a priority in the strategy. And we are expecting health boards now to be compliant with the Royal College of Psychiatrists' workforce standards—on standard 1 by April 2023—and they've all been asked to prioritise perinatal support. As part of the additional funding we've made available, they've been asked to bid against that and provide detailed information on what they're doing with that, and we are, officials are, currently assessing those submissions from health boards.