Cross-Party Group Annual Report
2023 – 2024 (AGM November 2023)
Cross Party Group on Mental Health
1. Group membership and office holders
Ken Skates MS
Jack Sargeant MS
Laura Anne Jones MS
Llyr Gruffydd MS
Jane Dodds MS
Note: In March 2024 Ken Skates MS became a Cabinet Secretary so had to step down from chairing the CPG and in July 2024 Jack Sargeant also joined the Government so had to step down from being one of the supporting members of the group.
Following this, discussions were held with the CPG on Eating Disorders, who had also a vacancy for a Chair due to Sarah Murphy MS entering Government and a decision taken to bring the two groups together in the short term in order to continue to have a platform for the discussion of issues relating to mental health and eating disorders. The next AGM will bring together these groups under the CPG on Mental Health.
Secretariat:
Simon Jones (Head of Policy & Campaigns, Mind Cymru)
Nia Sinclair (EA to Director, Mind Cymru)
2. Previous group meetings
Meeting 1 – Adferiad Time to Take Control campaign
Date:(22 November 2023 – AGM)
AGM – Ken Skates MS was elected as Chair for the group and Mind Cymru was appointed as secretariat of the Group.
Chole Harrison introduced Adferiad as a Wales-wide member-led organisation which specifically provides support for people with mental health, addiction and co-occurring and complex need.
She referred to the Time to Take Control campaign (launched in summer 2023) as an initiative which responds to people’s concerns about getting through the current financial climate. The campaign has travelled across Wales, highlighting Adferiad’s Money Advice Service and encouraging people to take control of their options.
She shared some key trends from the campaign survey results (sample of 110 respondents) including;
- 80% reporting that their bills had increased a lot over the past 18 months
- 67% reporting that their mental health has gotten worse
- Only 28% reporting that they have accessed support.
CH noted the six main themes to emerge from the qualitative responses to the survey, which helped to form the organisation’s ten-point plan calling on the UK and Welsh Government to do more to support beneficiaries through the crisis. The two specific asks in Wales are:
- Developing more effective care and treatment plans
- Providing easier access to advice and advocacy relating to money management and debt.
She noted that people generally feel the Welsh Government is responding more positively to the crisis than the UK Government.
Key comments:
- KS thanked CH for her presentation, noting the hard-hitting truth of some of the responses in terms of the frustration of having two separate governments looking to provide support but it being felt neither were doing enough. He acknowledged the general feeling of there being a disconnect between the people and the UK Government and welcomed the differing views in Wales of the Welsh Government being seen to have a clearer and more targeted approach to tackling the problems that people are facing.
- Stephen Mulligan (SM) from the British Association of Counselling Professions (BACP) emphasised how the current pressures are affecting clients who are cutting back on therapy sessions due to cost, which is leading to increased NHS referrals and greater pressure on third sector services.
- Jemma Wray (JW) referred to the research undertaken by the Mental Health Foundation with 5,000 adults UK-wide, noting that the figures in Wales are higher in terms of levels of concern, but very much reflects the findings from the work Chloe presented.
- Lloyd Watkins (LlW) queried the enactment of the socio-economic duty by Welsh Government and asked what work is currently being done in that area to develop budgets with this duty in mind.
- Linda Newton (LN) opened a discussion about third sector funding noting that many more people are now coming through needing support locally, resulting in huge competition for charitable funds and a desperate need for the third sector to secure money.
- Kathryn Morgan (KM) from Shared Lives Plus suggested speaking to people who have recently been discharged from mental health wards and hospitals about the factors which led to their hospitalisation. She supported Adferiad’s campaign to develop and improve care and treatment plans following discharge. She highlighted her organisation as providing crucial support for people returning to family life after a period in hospital and emphasised the importance of the future sustainability of these services.
- Richard Jones (RJ) noted the advocacy services provided by Mental Health Matters, and the difficulty the organisation is facing (and others) in having to top up costs for the services via their own reserves. He stressed the importance of the third sector in holding the system together and the risk of some organisations having to close due to a lack of funding.
Meeting 2 – Nick Horn – Trauma Informed Care
Date: 7 Febuary 2024
Summary of issues discussed:
Nick Horn thanked the group for the invitation to share an overview of the work he is doing with his colleagues at Betsi Cadwaladr UHB to give deeper meaning to trauma informed care in North Wales.
He noted the following key highlights:
- Trauma informed care was developed due to the growth in evidence linking trauma and adverse experiences to harmful consequences.
- There’s a need to exercise caution about the meaning of trauma informed and how we define it – need to shift from asking people “what’s wrong with you?” to “what’s happening to you?”
- Wales is at the forefront of trauma informed approaches – initiatives include Traumatic Stress Wales (funded by Welsh Government), ACEs Hub and the Trauma Informed Wales Framework.
- The approach in North Wales focuses on two objectives; i) to improve quality, capacity, choice and access to evidence, and ii) to initiate, progress and support trauma-informed approach to health care.
o BCUHB is currently trying to get better at supervision and consultation, focusing on making trauma informed everyone’s business. People in turn want to learn more about it.
o Focusing on concept of storytelling and running events to bring people together from various services and communities for a joined up collaborative approach.
Key Comments
- Nick Wilkinson – Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health
asked whether there is a known figure available on the proportion of young people or adults who have had an episode of trauma that’s influencing their thoughts, feelings, and behaviours. NH noted that 95% of people accessing adult mental health services will have had a history of trauma, and as such, as part of any initial assessment, people should be asked whether they can draw a link between their experiences and their problems. NW added that some professionals are critical of people who are searching for labels, particularly in relation to children who are facing long waits for neurodiverse referrals. Professionals often want to proceed and treat the symptoms.
- Heather Lewis (HL) – Mental Health Foundation asked whether community training on trauma informed approaches has been considered in settings such as sports groups, girl guides or scouts. NH confirmed that the team is currently meeting with communities and organisations and exploring further options, adding that there is great interest from these groups in learning more about the approach.
- Jen Daffin referred to Platfform’s approach to this work, and the opportunity to relay a different message to the public that mental illness should not always be viewed through a medical lens. She suggested there is something about rebalancing and encouraging people to see how mental health and trauma go hand in hand.
- Simon Jones (SJ) – Mind Cymru whether NH could share some insight on where we are in terms of changing our default way of thinking to a more trauma informed approach. He asked whether there is more our organisations can do to address some of the current challenges.
- NH noted there is no uniform approach to adopt and that the approach taken varies from health board to health board. However, he stressed that there is general need to gauge a better understanding of a person’s full journey rather than only hearing small parts of their story alone.
- Lowri Wyn Jones - Time to Change Wales referred to the anti-stigma campaign, Time to Change Wales, adding that people with mental health problems continuously experience stigma within services. She noted stigma as being a form of trauma. She highlighted her current involvement with HEIW’s Strategic Mental Health Workforce Plan working to develop modules on stigma for NHS settings.
- Kathryn Morgan (KM) – Shared Lives Plus highlighted the ongoing work of Shared Lives Plus in developing community and strength-based services which are seeing excellent outcomes. She encouraged greater collaboration and a need to get better at recognising the services which are already in place.
3. Professional lobbyists, voluntary organisations and charities with whom the Group has met during the preceding year.
Mind Cymru provided the secretariat support for the group throughout the year. Adferiad presented that the meeting in November
The meetings were attended by a range of external organisations who participated in the discussions during the meeting.
4. Financial Declaration
All meetings were held online via Teams, so no payment was made for rooms or catering
All presenters provided their time for free, so no payment for speakers fees
This means that there were no financial transactions for the Cross Party Group during 2023/24