Will the Minister confirm that the 48 hour target for urgent CAMHS assessment by Health boards has remained in place since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic?
Mental health services, including crisis and out of hours services, have been positioned as essential services during the pandemic. This means that whilst service delivery models have been adapted to the current restrictions, services continue to be available to respond to mental health needs.
Whilst routine performance reporting has been stood down to reduce the burden on health boards, the Welsh Government established the Mental Health Incident Group to maintain oversight of mental health services during the pandemic. During this period, health boards have reported to the MHIG on a weekly basis on the capacity and capability of mental health services using the Mental Health Monitoring tool.
Whilst the expectation for services to respond to urgent CAMHS assessments within 48 hours remains in place, this indicator is not included in the NHS Delivery Framework and is not reported to the Welsh Government. However, the weekly reporting by health boards using the Mental Health Monitoring tool has provided assurance to the Mental Health Incident Group that crisis and out of hours services have continued to be available during the pandemic.