Wales needs more psychiatrists now

IT’S ENCOURAGING to see the stigma around mental health slowly, but surely, being broken down.

While the taboo still remains, many people feel less reluctant to open up about their problems with depression, PTSD, an eating disorder or something entirely different.

Some high-profile celebrities have helped by being so honest about their own struggles, including football pundit Robbie Savage who earlier this month admitted to seeking professional help for his anxiety.

Former Take That front man Robbie Williams has also spoken out about how the trappings of fame have led to his depression resurfacing.

By talking frankly about these issues, the more they will become commonplace and accepted in society.

The illnesses will then be treated with the same respect and attention as those who experience physical injuries.

But while this should be celebrated, question marks remain over the standard – and level of funding – of mental healthcare in Wales and across the UK.

Medical treatment is generally offered as standard for a person with a serious mental illness, but psychological therapies are nowhere near as readily available.

New figures show that for every 100,000 people who live in Wales there are just six psychiatrists.

That’s worse than our counterparts in England, Northern Ireland and Scotland.

And sadly it’s the people living in rural areas of Wales that struggle the most to get access to specialist mental healthcare.

It goes without saying that waiting for an appointment for something this debilitating could have disastrous consequences and could even lead to higher fatality rates.

The role of the psychiatrist is vital, particularly in times of crisis, but it appears there are major workforce shortages in the field.

Last year the Welsh Government announced an investment of £3m for psychological therapies in Wales and another £1.15m for inpatient services.

Health boards are also working hard to address staff shortages in the NHS by launching a series of recruitment campaigns.

But Wales is competing against the rest of the world in trying to bring the best mental health medics here.

And at present, there is a lack of appetite among students to take up careers in medicine – and particularly in fields like psychiatry.

The Assembly’s Health, Social Care and Sports Committee highlighted the scale of the problem of recruitment across the range of medical professionals throughout Wales in a recent report.

Since 2011, the number of consultant psychiatrists has declined by 3.8%, while the number of consultants across all other hospital specialties increased by 10.4%.

If we can address people’s mental health problems early on with talking therapies and medication, if necessary, then we can reduce the burden on the NHS in the long-run. It would also help change thousands of people’s lives for the better. The Western Mail newspaper is published by Media Wales a subsidiary company of Trinity Mirror PLC, which is a member of IPSO, the Independent Press Standards Organisation. The entire contents of The Western Mail are the copyright of Media Wales Ltd. It is an offence to copy any of its contents in any way without the company’s permission. If you require a licence to copy parts of it in any way or form, write to the Head of Finance at Six Park Street. The recycled paper content of UK newspapers in 2016 was 62.8%