Questions Without Notice from Party Spokespeople

Part of 4. Questions to the Minister for Health and Social Services – in the Senedd at 3:40 pm on 31 January 2023.

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Photo of Lynne Neagle Lynne Neagle Labour 3:40, 31 January 2023

Thank you, Peredur. I think you saw the Minister give a positive signal there that things are going well in terms of the workforce plan that she's taking forward. We also have a separate workforce plan for mental health, which is being developed by Health Education and Improvement Wales and Social Care Wales. That was launched in November. I'm really pleased that, because of the extra £75 million funding made available by the Welsh Government this year for mental health, including substance misuse, we are able to fund that workforce plan, which does come with a very hefty price tag in full. That will enable some immediate short-term actions to be taken on the workforce pressures that we face, including things like the training and employment of clinical associates in psychology, who aren't fully qualified in a doctorate for psychology, but are able to offer some psychological therapies, and access to psychology is a key part of that workforce plan. 

I note the comments that you've made about waiting times for psychology services and, clearly, there is more work to do in that space. The NHS delivery unit is currently undertaking a review of psychological therapies for Welsh Government. That report is due in March and, as with their other reports on mental health, will provide us with a set of recommendations to make sure that we can improve services in a sustainable way.

The other point that I would make, Peredur, is that we are spending huge sums of money in Wales on open-access tier 0 and tier 1 support. There is online cognitive behavioural therapy available right across Wales for a range of lower level mental health issues. We've got our call helpline that's available 24 hours a day, and we are making really good progress with our 111 'press 2 for mental health', which is operating everywhere now in Wales and will be 24/7 by the spring. I think that will be a real game changer in terms of the 'no wrong door' approach to mental health.