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Strategic Programme for Mental Health – Stakeholder update (March)

The Strategic Programme for Mental Health Programme Board provides a strong collaborative mechanism for the direction and delivery of objectives in line with shared national priorities. The NHS Wales Executive (the Executive), Welsh Government, health boards, special health authorities, Third Sector and other key stakeholders in the mental health sector are represented on the forum. This update summarises key activity discussed at the Programme Board in March 2025.

 

Programme update

Ciara Rogers, National Director for Mental Health, Learning Disability and Neurodiversity in the NHS Wales Executive, opened the meeting with an update on the progress of the Strategic Programme for Mental Health since the last meeting, and provided a year-end position for 2024-25. Ciara discussed some of the excellent achievements the Executive has been able to make it partnership with NHS Wales and other key stakeholders.

In the Perinatal Clinical Implementation Network, the team has been focussed on the delivery of the Royal College of Psychiatry Standards for Specialist Perinatal teams. Health boards are now demonstrating consistency against the standards which indicates consistent practice and a reduction in variation across the system. Whilst quarterly reviews of compliance with the standards will be ongoing, future work will now be directed towards maintenance in this area, which is testament to the fantastic work the team has done to implement the standards.

The development of the CAMHS service specification is complete and assessments of organisations have been made against it. A report will be available in April which will outline where health boards are in relation to the specification, and plans will be developed to support necessary improvements. Additionally, work to develop a high value children’s pathway is ongoing and will be a key part of the workplan for 2025/26, supported by national ambitions around a stepped care model.

Health boards continue to face significant challenges meeting psychological therapy targets for adult provision. The Executive is continuing its review of digital psychological therapies, the newly established Psychological Therapies Programme Board and opportunities presented through open access care principles will be key drivers in improving access.

Overall, a number of delivery challenges remain for mental health in Wales, including:

  • Balancing short term improvement against the narrow set of national performance targets with the need for longer term sustainable change to address broader demand, equity and quality challenges. ​
  • Gaps in data for quality planning, quality improvement, quality control and quality assurance​.
  • Ensuring mental health is a priority for health boards​.
  • Need for strategic workforce planning to deliver transformational change​.
  • Estate and digital infrastructure in mental health is poor​.
  • Lack of modelling capacity / capability available to support strategic thinking and planning.

 

Acute and crisis care transformation

In March 2025, the Executive held an Accelerated Design Event that focussed on the transformation of acute and crisis care mental health services in Wales. Accelerated Design is an evidence-based approach to change. It is about working collaboratively in a multidisciplinary way, across the system and learning from each other to tackle challenging problems.

Acute and crisis care mental health services across all ages remain a national challenge in Wales, driven by a number of factors including rising acuity, changing patient/ service user profiles, available data, workforce issues and displaced activity.  

Whilst there are many areas of good practice and improvement at a local level, enhanced national focus and collaboration is required to expedite and scale improvements to enhance the quality of care. 

Recognising there is significant value in rethinking our approach to acute and crisis care mental health services, over 100 people - representing healthcare, Royal Colleges, Local Authorities, the Third Sector, policing and more - gathered to rethink how we develop a new service model for Wales.

The rich insights captured through discussions will be vital in helping to create acute and crisis mental health services that are person-centred where people are guided people to the right support without delay. Over the coming weeks the Executive will be using the valuable insights generated over the two days to plan the next steps for large-scale change and accelerated transformation. 

 

Eating disorders early intervention model

The Eating Disorders Clinical Implementation Network presented a paper on a proposed model for eating disorders early intervention, requesting support from members to move forward with implementation plans. Colleagues gave an update on the development of the work to date, including the various options explored and the appraisal process. It was acknowledged that it had been a challenging journey to get to this point with a consensus on a national way forward that creates greater equity, whilst still accommodating and supporting local choice. Following discussion, it was decided to pause the decision to allow health board members to seek further assurances from their local teams around what implementation of the new model might look like in local contexts.

Members discussed at length how whilst local choice is important, it can lead to variation which can dilute system wide transformation. Colleagues from the Executive highlighted the emphasis placed on intervention in the NHS Wales Planning Framework and the urgent need to progress conversations around the model to improve experiences and outcomes for the whole population of Wales. It was agreed that further conversations with health boards would be progressed to seek further assurances and reported back ahead of the next Programme Board meeting in May 2025.

 

Wales Mental Health Leadership Exchange

An update was provided on the Wales Mental Health Leadership Exchange Conference which is due to take place from 2 to 4 April in Aberystwyth. The event will bring together leaders from a number of sectors, to shape the future direction of mental health services in Wales. Leaders in a range of roles, and across a diverse network of stakeholders, will play an important role in driving change.

Throughout March, nineteen knowledge exchanges took place across Wales. Hosted by teams and organisations across Wales, each knowledge exchange was a structured and immersive experience where experts by occupation and experience come together to share best practice and build on their collective knowledge, stimulating improvement. Learning and insights from the knowledge exchanges will feed into the conference.

Attendees can look forward to a rich agenda that includes insights and learning from industry experts and people with lived-experience, a number of workshops, and strategy/planning activities. Further updates on the outcomes of the event will be shared soon.