The Welsh Labour Government has set targets for mental health staffing but has no monitoring in place to establish whether they’re being met, Welsh Conservatives revealed earlier this week.
Local Health Boards have been instructed to maintain a ratio of two Primary Mental Health Workers for every 100,000 people in their area.
An admission from the Welsh Labour Government reveals that records are not kept by Ministers, so they have no idea whether targets are being met.
New figures today reveal there were 11,198 admissions to mental health facilities in Wales during 2010-11. 98 per cent of those were to NHS facilities, with the remainder admitted to independent hospitals.
Darren Millar AM, Shadow Minister for Health and Social Services, said: “It is extraordinary that Welsh Labour Ministers should set targets for standards of provision – but have absolutely no idea if they’re being achieved.
“Mental health patients and their families have a right to expect well-staffed primary care facilities to provide for patients’ needs.
“As the stigma surrounding mental health conditions is gradually broken down, it is anticipated that diagnoses could rise, so it is more important than ever that services are accessible.
“The First Minister has previously criticised his own government for falling short on delivery. He now needs to ensure that measures are in place to assess whether it’s delivering on its commitments to mental health patients.”
