A new report has found that fewer than half of children and young people in Wales know where to access mental health support – despite the fact that schools, online platforms and voluntary organisations are providing ‘more mental health support than ever’ to try and prevent the need for further specialist support.
These are the findings of a Joint National Review published by Healthcare Inspectorate Wales (HIW), Care Inspectorate Wales (CIW) and Estyn highlighting the challenges around creating a responsive, equitable and joined-up care system able to meet the mental health needs of children and young people.
Mind Cymru says while the findings might feel disheartening, publication of the review itself is otherwise a positive development in recognising recent improvements, alongside highlighting the barriers faced in meeting the mental health needs of children and young people in Wales.
Nia Evans, Children and Young People’s Mental Health Manager at Mind Cymru, said:
“The report confirms that many children, young people and their families continue to be at a loss as to where to turn to for timely mental health support, and that gaps remain for those in need of support that falls between provision for all and specialist support.
“So, Mind Cymru welcomes both the report and its requirement for relevant stakeholders to set out and submit an improvement plan to HIW, CIW and Estyn, outlining how they propose to address the report’s findings.
“These might not be described as encouraging findings, but what HIW, CIW and Estyn have created with this review is a much-needed evidence base for those of us working to improve mental health services for children and young people in Wales. It outlines clearly the importance of collaboration between organisations, and we are hopeful that, whilst work to achieve this is already underway across Wales, it serves as an enabler for further improvement at pace.
“And we also believe that its findings strengthen our call on Welsh Government to ensure that their vision for supporting children and young people is distinctly drawn out in the forthcoming national mental health strategy for Wales too.”
Welsh Government is set to publish a new draft Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy (2024-2034) early next year, which will replace its previous ten-year strategy called Together for Mental Health.
The HIW, CIW and Estyn Joint National Review has meanwhile been published to look at how healthcare, education and children’s services in Wales are supporting the mental health needs of children and young people in Wales, after demand was found to be significantly above capacity in terms of public services provided.
Its key aims were to consider whether children and young people are receiving timely and effective support for their mental health needs, identify where services are succeeding, and find out where more needs to be done.
Mind Cymru contributed to this work by sharing the opportunity to input with its own Youth Voice Network and the local Mind network in Wales, which provides mental health services tailored to the needs of communities in 16 different areas nationwide.
Nia said:
“It is only through knowing the true state of mental health services available to our children and young people in Wales that we can hope to improve them on their behalf, and a central part of achieving this lies in listening to the needs of children and young people themselves.
“Knowing that over 200 children and young people across Wales contributed their lived experience to this review is really encouraging and demonstrates that they want their voices heard. We now need to listen by taking action, both in specific response to this report, but also in the opportunity that the new Mental Health Strategy for Wales brings.
“The work HIW, CIW and Estyn have put into producing this Joint National Review has provided us with a hugely insightful piece of work, and it is now everyone’s responsibility to reflect on its conclusions and ensure action follows. With this knowledge comes a responsibility to respond, and we at Mind Cymru are committed to doing so with young people as our guide.”
