- 01/10/2016
- Posted by: Mike Hedges MS
- Category: Press Releases
Mike Hedges AM welcomes New delivery plan to improve mental health and well-being in Wales
On World Mental Health Day, Welsh Labour’s Health Secretary Vaughan Gething has launched the Welsh Government’s new delivery plan to improve mental health and well-being in Wales.
Mike said… ‘I am well aware of the difficulties faced by people who suffer from Mental Health issues and their families face, so I warmly welcome news of this plan. I look forward, as a result of this plan, to significant improvements in the services available for people in these circumstances.’
Together for Mental Health is a ten year, cross government strategy designed to improve the mental well-being of all residents in Wales. It covers all ages and contains a range of actions to support people with severe and enduring mental illness.
The strategy sets out ten priority areas for service improvement and is implemented through three year delivery plans for government and stakeholders. The first delivery plan covered the period 2012-15; today’s strategy covers 2016-19.
Following recent consultation, the delivery plan contains a number of new ambitious objectives including:
- Improved support for young people, particularly those at risk of adverse childhood experiences.
- A new strategic action plan for dementia.
- Action to address suicide and self-harm.
- A range of actions to ensure services are provided in a safe, timely and effective way ensuring the dignity and respect of the person using the service.
- Goals to ensure groups at a higher risk of mental health issues receive the care they need. Pregnancy and early parenthood are challenging times and the plan offers additional support to families.
- Targets to help people with an eating disorder, people who have left the armed forces and people in the criminal justice system get the services they need at the right time.
The Welsh Labour Government has continued to spend more on mental health services than on any other part of the Welsh NHS and funding has been increased to £600m in 2015-16. In the past year alone, the Welsh Labour Government has announced £22m of new funding linked to priority areas for delivery over the next three years – the period this delivery plan covers.
