Health Minister welcomes Royal Approval for Mental Health legislation

The Health Minister Edwina Hart has welcomed Royal Approval of the Mental Health (Wales) Measure by HM The Queen through Privy Council. This was the final stage of the Measure’s journey to becoming law.

The Health Minister said:

“The Welsh Assembly Government is delighted that this Measure has now become law. From the start of this process, the Measure has received widespread support from all parties within the National Assembly and from our partners and stakeholders outside.”

The Mental Health (Wales) Measure introduces new legislative arrangements in a number of areas:

Firstly, it places statutory duties on Health Boards and Local Authorities to establish and deliver local primary mental health support services across Wales; it requires mental health service providers to ensure that all individuals in secondary mental health services have a care coordinator and a care and treatment plan; the Measure also requires secondary mental health services to have in place arrangements to ensure the provision of timely access to assessment for previous service users; and finally, the Measure introduces provisions which will expand the independent mental health advocacy scheme so that all inpatients in hospital in Wales will be able to access this form of support if they so wish.