Extra £3.3m announced to create ‘sustainable’ mental health workforce in Wales

An extra £3.3m is being invested into implementing a mental health workforce plan in Wales. ‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌​ ‌​‌‌​​​‌‍‌​‌​‌​​​

The Strategic Mental Health Workforce Plan was developed by Health Education and Improvement Wales (HEIW) and Social Care Wales after consulting with users of mental health services and was published in November 2022. ‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌​ ‌​‌‌​​​‌‍‌​‌​‌​​​

It sets out 33 actions to help achieve a sustainable mental health workforce. It aims to improve prevention and early intervention services, as well as addressing pressures on services for people with severe mental health needs. ‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌​ ‌​‌‌​​​‌‍‌​‌​‌​​​

The plan is aligned to the 10-year Workforce Strategy for Health and Social Care in Wales ‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌​ ‌​‌‌​​​‌‍‌​‌​‌​​​

Deputy Minister for Mental Health and Well-being, Lynne Neagle, yesterday announced an additional £3.3m to support the implementation of the Strategic Mental Health Workforce plan in 2023-24. ‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌​ ‌​‌‌​​​‌‍‌​‌​‌​​​

The additional funding will take the annual investment by Welsh Government to implement the Plan to £6m in 2023-24. ‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌​ ‌​‌‌​​​‌‍‌​‌​‌​​​

Ms Neagle said: “We have a highly-skilled mental health workforce here in Wales, which is vital in meeting people’s mental health needs. However, workforce issues remain a key challenges for mental health services. ‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌​ ‌​‌‌​​​‌‍‌​‌​‌​​​

“This plan aims to help us achieve a sustainable and diverse workforce to meet chose challenges. ‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌I welcome the work HEIW and Social Care Wales have done to develop this ambitious plan. ‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌​ ‌​‌‌​​​‌‍‌​‌​‌​​​

“We are committing this funding to help ensure that the plan is delivered as part of our wider and continued investment to support mental health and well-being.” ‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌​ ‌​‌‌​​​‌‍‌​‌​‌​​​

Alex Howells, Chief Executive of HEIW, said: “One of the actions from our Strategic Mental Health Workforce Plan for Health and Social Care, developed with Social Care Wales, was to develop this multi-professional workforce plan. ‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌​ ‌​‌‌​​​‌‍‌​‌​‌​​​

“We welcome this announcement of funding so we can move into a new phase of work, implementing our planned actions alongside Social Care Wales, which will help us to better support Wales’ vital mental health workforce.” ‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌​ ‌​‌‌​​​‌‍‌​‌​‌​​​