Legal News

The Welsh Government has announced that, as part of £30 million funding for mental health and older people in 2016-2017, the Welsh Government will invest £2.3m to create new teams to provide extra support – especially in the evening and at night – for people with mental health conditions, including dementia.

An extra £1.5m is being made available to local primary care mental health support services to further support the Mental Health (Wales) Measure, which will provide more capacity to respond to patients’ mental health needs locally.

A further £1.15m is being allocated for psychological therapies for inpatient older person and adult mental health services. This will support the additional investment of £1.9m in adult psychological therapy provision, which was announced earlier this year.

The Welsh Government is also providing £1m in non-recurrent funding to reduce waiting times for local memory clinics and initial assessment for dementia – as well as £325,000 for transitional/recovery support workers, who will be based in early intervention psychosis teams to promote active recovery for young people who have developed severe mental illnesses.

Evidence suggests that early intervention greatly improves long-term outcomes.
There will also be £329,000 in non-recurrent funding to promote and protect the rights of people without capacity – and £100,000 for a dementia campaign focusing on health promotion and prevention.
Welsh Assembly Health Secretary Professor Mark Drakeford said:
“Mental health is the foundation of all health – one in every four of us can expect to suffer mental ill health and some point in our lives.

“That’s why we are investing more than ever before in mental health services in Wales – a clear demonstration of this government’s commitment to improving the health and mental wellbeing of people across the country.

“This will provide support for, among other groups, people with dementia and their families in the community.”

The £30m for mental health and older people for 2016-2017 is in addition to the £15m-plus of recurrent funding announced in June 2015.

Duncan Lewis Mental Health Solicitors

Duncan Lewis is the UK’s largest provider of Legal Aid mental health services and can advise mental health patients on a wide range of issues – including access to NHS mental health services and detention under the Mental Health Act.

Duncan Lewis mental health solicitors regularly visit NHS hospitals and police stations to advise on mental health law – and are available nationwide at short notice for hospital and police station appointments.

In some cases, Duncan Lewis mental health solicitors may be able to advise the nearest relative or carer of a mental health patient on a range of issues, including initiating treatment reviews where appropriate.

For expert legal advice on mental health law, call the Duncan Lewis Mental Health Solicitors Helpline on 0333 772 0409.