Nearly 4 in 5 young people in Wales waiting over a month for first mental health appointment

There are calls for the Welsh Government to urgently step-up mental health service provision for young people.

Waiting times for mental health services reach a record high according to Plaid Cymru.

In figures released on Wednesday by the Welsh Government, 78% of patients referred to the Specialist Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services are left waiting for over four weeks for their first appointment.

Plaid Cymru’s spokesperson for health and care, Rhun ap Iorwerth MS, has said this demonstrates the importance of early intervention as well as stepping up the provision for the specialist service.

Mr ap Iorwerth says: “Waiting times for mental health services for young people are now the worst on record. These are young people who have been deemed to require urgent, specialist treatment, and yet they’re being made to wait over a month to even be seen.

 “The Welsh Government clearly needs to increase provision of CAMHS services, but it also must allow young people to access support earlier, before they reach the point where they require this specialist care.

 “We must have robust provision in place so that patients can receive the best possible treatment at the earliest opportunity, before their situation worsens, as we have seen all too often.”