In the second of our articles on the new Women’s Health Plan and Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy, Simon Jones, Head of Policy, Campaigns and Communications at Mind Cymru, delves deeper into what impact it will have on the voluntary sector.
The importance of having a strategy for Mental Health and Wellbeing in place that sets the direction of travel and intent for the next ten years should not be underestimated. While there is an election on the horizon in Wales, this strategy should provide some stability for how we want to work alongside all of those who need support for their mental health.
A TRANSFORMATIVE MOMENT
The Strategy feels like a genuine moment of transformation for mental health support and access in Wales. It recognises that while getting the system right needs to be central, what drives poor mental health often lies outside the NHS.
Without taking the time to understand and tackle the wider social and economic determinants of mental ill-health, we’ll only ever be managing it rather than improving it.
The document recognises the partnerships needed with the voluntary sector if it’s to be a success. Moving to a person-centred, compassionate and rights-based system of care, free from discrimination and stigma, is central to the delivery of many voluntary sector services and programmes. It’s crucial that organisations are able to continue to work with the communities that trust them.
LISTENING TO NEEDS
Much of the focus on the launch of the new strategy has been around the proposal to implement ‘same day, open access to mental health care at the point of need and stage of readiness, with minimal assessment’. When we talk to people about getting help, timely access based on their needs is a consistent theme.
The transformation of the way we are supported is positive and again has been central to the delivery of many voluntary sector programmes and services. However, this cannot just be the introduction of a new model of mental healthcare. It has to be combined with a cultural shift in how we work with people to listen and meet their needs, rather than simply offering what the system already provides.
The voluntary sector has an opportunity to lead this cultural shift, based on the way we work with our communities and the trust built into our delivery.
DOING THINGS THE RIGHT WAY
While the strategy has the right intent and feels like a genuine moment of transformation, there is a way to travel between what is written on the page and the reality of positively impacting people’s lives. The risk is that we see new models that are simply adaptations of existing delivery, with the same way of thinking and the same culture.
If we are to secure a rights based, non-stigmatising basis for our mental health support as a nation, we have to harness the energy to change both the system and the culture that underpins it by moving power back to those seeking help. This will take energy, strong leadership and the will to engage in difficult and honest conversations.
The strategy has prepared the ground for this and it is up to all partners to now engage, learn from each other and make the lasting changes to the mental health system that we all want to see.
FURTHER RESOURCES
You can read the first read the first blog on this subject here.
Read the NHS Women’s Health Plan and Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy (2025-2035)
For more on the health and social care landscape in Wales, visit WCVA’s Health and Care Project page.
The principles by which Welsh Government funds the sector are set out in the Code of practice for funding the third sector.