Mind’s work in Wales following ‘landmark’ England announcement
Mind welcomed today’s landmark announcement of the first ever mental health waiting times standards in England and will be calling upon the Welsh Government to introduce similar standards in Wales.
In England, waiting time for talking therapies forms part of a five year plan which sets out how mental health services will be treated as equally as important as physical health services by 2020.
Mind Cymru’s Acting Director Janet Pardue-Wood said:
“Mind Cymru and the Mind network throughout Wales welcome today’s landmark announcement by the UK Government of a standard for waiting times for mental health services in England and additional resources to deliver this. We will be working with the Welsh Government and asking them to act now to set standards to address waiting times with clear targets across mental health services in Wales including talking therapies and services through the medium of Welsh.
The parties in Wales are in the process of preparing their manifesto plans for the Assembly elections in 2016, and we will urge all of the political parties in Wales also to commit to this, to deliver real parity between physical and mental health services and to ensure that people in Wales do not have to wait longer than people in England for talking therapies or other mental health services.”
Mind works with the Welsh Government, the National Assembly for Wales and other voluntary and statutory agencies to influence and develop mental health policy in Wales. You can find out more and get involved in Mind Cymru’s work here.