New law to improve mental health services gets backing of Assembly committee
2 July 2010
A cross-party committee of Assembly Members has backed a new law that will improve services for those experiencing mental health problems.
Legislation Committee No.3 supports, in principle, the National Assembly for Wales Proposed Mental Health (Wales) Measure.
However, committee members were unanimous in their concern that the legislation didn’t extend to young people and have called on the Minister to amend the legislation to address this point.
“The committee is united in its view that this is a sound piece of legislation,” said Committee Chair, Dai Lloyd AM.
“We believe it will help to secure essential services to those suffering from mental health problems at an earlier stage, giving them a higher chance of making a full recovery.
“However, there was concern amongst members that the legislation didn’t extend to young people and we heard overwhelming evidence calling for this.”
The Measure will:
provide local primary mental health support services at an earlier stage than is currently the case for individuals experiencing mental health problems, the aim being to lessen the risk of further decline in mental health, and in some cases, to reduce the need for subsequent inpatient treatment and possible compulsory detention;
ensure that all individuals accepted into secondary mental health services in Wales have a dedicated care coordinator and receive a care and treatment plan, and that service users discharged from secondary mental health services have access to those services when they believe their mental health may be deteriorating;
extend the categories of patients qualifying for statutory mental health advocacy provision beyond that which is currently required.