Written question WQ92792

We continue to provide sustained funding to health boards for mental health services. We have also established the NHS Strategic Programme for Mental Health, which is working with health boards, including Hywel Dda, to drive improvements in mental health support.

We have invested significantly in tier 0/1 support at a national level which includes online access to Cognitive Behavioural Therapy. This provides easy access to mental health support for all, without the need of referral from a health professional. The aim is to reduce pressure on more specialist mental health services.

We also continue to support the implementation of the strategic mental health workforce plan to ensure a sustainable and diverse mental health workforce across health and social care which will underpin future improvements and to improve access and outcomes in mental health services.

We are currently consulting on our new Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy, and this also includes a focus on service improvements. We have disseminated this widely and are encouraging people to engage with the consultation to inform our future priorities.