Mental health pressures in Wales have intensified in recent years, including as an ongoing consequence of the Covid pandemic. Today, approximately 30% of GP consultations in Wales have a mental health component, and 55% of young people aged 16-25 have approached their GP with a mental health concern.
Plaid Cymru has led the way in strengthening mental health services in Wales, including through securing new mental health crisis hubs for young people. A Plaid Cymru government will build on this record.
To support an effective mental health and well-being strategy, a we will protect the mental health ringfence in the Welsh Budget.
Further, we will:
- Embed integrated and collaborative partnership between the statutory and third sectors to deliver mental health provision.
- Promote the ‘no wrong door’ model, making mental health referrals easier, and allowing more people to self-refer.
- Work towards the closer integration of child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) and adult mental health services (AMHS), to remove the ‘cliff-edge’ that young people undergoing treatment for mental health face when they turn 18.
- Ensure equity of access to perinatal mental health (PMH) and parent-infant relationship (PIR) services across health board areas.
- Develop and strengthen Wales's National Bereavement Care Pathway, and promote best practice on supporting parents and families affected by baby loss.
- Expand education on suicide prevention, and establish a dedicated task force to tackle increasing suicides in Wales, especially among men.