, Children, Young People, and Education Committee
Mental health support in higher education—evidence session 9
Yes, and there is a programme of work that we’re doing, because it’s not just about the acute services. We’ve got a programme of work around education and eating disorders, and we’re also doing lots of work to educate GPs, so they should understand how…
, Children, Young People, and Education Committee
Mental health support in higher education—evidence session 9
Well, I absolutely don't want people with eating disorders to be left out from services; that is absolutely the opposite of what we want. I've been really clear that eating disorder services are a priority for me. We've allocated additional money specifically…
, Children, Young People, and Education Committee
Mental health support in higher education—evidence session 9
—waiting for that length of time, but, obviously, I'm really keen to hear the voices that have spoken to the committee. It's really important that we do that. Since the pandemic, we have experienced some major pressures in mental health services. They were…
, Children, Young People, and Education Committee
Mental health support in higher education—evidence session 9
Thanks, James. Can I say that I don't know of any—? None of the data that I see suggests anyone will be—
, Children, Young People, and Education Committee
Mental health support in higher education—evidence session 9
Thanks, Laura. Just to be clear that the 'Together for Mental Health' strategy has been delivered through three three-year delivery plans, and the current plan, 2019-22, does reference higher education, with an action regarding training around mental health…
, Children, Young People, and Education Committee
Mental health support in higher education—evidence session 9
And just to add, in terms of students who aren't in direct contact with their universities, like students on a year abroad, or students doing a year in industry, or whatever, I think there are things that we can do. It's about informing them, really, before…
, Children, Young People, and Education Committee
Mental health support in higher education—evidence session 9
I did a year abroad and I know how tough it is, and my son is in Tbilisi at the moment doing his year abroad. We can look at the support available, but transferring records between foreign countries is probably a bit of an ask, really.
, Children, Young People, and Education Committee
Mental health support in higher education—evidence session 9
Okay. Well, that is even more challenging.
, Children, Young People, and Education Committee
Mental health support in higher education—evidence session 9
Thank you. Obviously, I read the recommendation about looking at a student passport in the Universities Wales work that they did. The issues for students are challenging, as we know, because obviously they spend part of the year in one place, another part in…
, Children, Young People, and Education Committee
Mental health support in higher education—evidence session 9
The missing middle is a really important group, isn't it? That's why we've worked so hard to increase the open-access tier 0, tier 1 support that's available. That collaboration and understanding of the joint roles of health and education is critically…
, Children, Young People, and Education Committee
Mental health support in higher education—evidence session 9
Thank you. I visited the service very recently, actually, and I also spoke at the launch of the service back in the summer. As you know, it was funded by £2 million allocated by HEFCW for five innovative projects to improve health and well-being in the…
, Children, Young People, and Education Committee
Mental health support in higher education—evidence session 9
Thank you, Laura. We're continuing to work to improve the understanding of the services and support that are available for mental health. To do that, we have the 111 website in Wales, which has all the details of the mental health support available. I hope…
, Children, Young People, and Education Committee
Mental health support in higher education—evidence session 9
Thank you very much, Chair. As I said in my letter, I'm very happy to come in and do a session with the committee around 'Mind over matter', and 'Mind over matter: Two years on'. As I said in the letter, we have published statutory guidance on the…
, Children, Young People, and Education Committee
Mental health support in higher education—evidence session 9
Well, there will be very, very wide engagement with a whole range of stakeholders. Obviously, putting people with lived experience at the centre of the strategy is incredibly important. I'm very happy to look at any international evidence that's out there…
, Children, Young People, and Education Committee
Mental health support in higher education—evidence session 9
Thanks very much, Ken. As the committee may be aware, we've commissioned an independent evaluation of 'Together for Mental Health', looking at it across all the years that it's been operating. Opinion Research Services have undertaken that evaluation for us…
, Children, Young People, and Education Committee
Mental health support in higher education—evidence session 9
Some, Chair. And, yes, you're right and, actually, suicide is the biggest killer of young people as well, and that is a very, very sobering statistic, and the prevention of young suicide in particular is particularly close to my heart and something that I…
, Children, Young People, and Education Committee
Mental health support in higher education—evidence session 9
Well, Jeremy will talk specifically about higher education, but, from my point of view, 'Together for Mental Health' has a really strong focus on mental health inequalities. It's a cross-Government plan that recognises that the impacts on mental health are…
, Children, Young People, and Education Committee
Mental health support in higher education—evidence session 9
I don't really have anything to add. Obviously, we've got a range of population-wide measures that were used to monitor mental health in the community—we've got public health surveys in schools, we've got the School Health Research Network surveys. But, as…
, Children, Young People, and Education Committee
Mental health support in higher education—evidence session 9
Thanks, Chair. Well, I think I've been really clear since coming into post that I see mental health as everybody's business. I see it as everybody's business within Welsh Government, but I think the same applies to institutions, and if you look at the…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Health and Social Services
Thank you very much, Altaf, for that question. Tackling the public health challenges you've outlined is absolutely a priority for Welsh Government. As you've highlighted, obesity and smoking are drivers of inequalities, given their impact on people's life…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Health and Social Services
Improving public health is identified as a priority within 'A Healthier Wales', our long-term strategy for health and social care. This is supported by plans such as our tobacco control and 'Healthy Weight: Healthy Wales' strategies.
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Health and Social Services
Thank you to Laura Anne Jones for that. Smoking is, of course, extremely damaging to health, and stopping smoking is the single most important step someone can take to improve their health. We recognise that, for some people, e-cigarettes and other nicotine…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Health and Social Services
Whilst we recognise that e-cigarettes are being used by some of those wanting to quit smoking, the evidence around their long-term impact is still emerging. We intend to look closely at our policy on e-cigarettes in Wales, including for smoking cessation, as…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Health and Social Services
Well, I think you'll find, James, that there is no section 151 of the Mental Health Act. Obviously, there are protections in place under the law to detain people who are in mental health crisis. We want to see the numbers of young people who are being…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Health and Social Services
Had the Member been here yesterday and joined us for my statement on our 'Together for Mental Health' strategy, he would have heard me talk in detail about these. Keir Starmer is entitled to set out his policies for the forthcoming Labour Government in…
