PATIENTS are struggling to access support from Nant Y Glyn Mental Health Resource Centre in Colwyn Bay.

This is according to Darren Millar, MS for Clwyd West, who raised his concerns in the Senedd earlier this month.

Mr Millar challenged both the First Minister Mark Drakeford and Lynne Neagle, Deputy Minister for Mental Health and Well-being, over the poor service being provided by centre. He said he had received a number of complaints from patients.

He told Ms Neale: "Patients are simply not getting the service that they need, and that is resulting in some of them having much worse mental health than would have been the case otherwise."
 
Asking the First Minister what assessment he has made of the quality of mental health services in Conwy and Denbighshire, Mr Millar said: “Mental health services in North Wales are currently in Special Measures due to failings, and we know that they've been in Special Measures and the subject of intervention since 2015. But I regret to inform you that I still get reports of persistent problems in services, particularly in terms of community mental health services.
 
“I'm frequently being contacted by constituents, and other organisations working to support people with mental health problems, who tell me that they're having difficulties in accessing support from the Community Mental Health Service at Colwyn Bay's Nant y Glyn Mental Health Centre.
 
“Patients who contact the centre are fobbed off, they're promised callbacks that they don't receive, and even court orders to provide support to patients are being ignored.
 
“I know that Healthcare Inspectorate Wales (HIW) has raised concerns about access to community mental health support at the centre; I've also raised concerns with the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board (BCUHB) but I'm afraid there's no evidence whatsoever of any improvement. If anything, things appear to be getting worse.
 
“So, can I ask you, First Minister, what action is the Welsh Government taking to ensure that patients in my constituency can get access to those vital community mental health services that they need, so that their health is not getting worse, and that they don't come to harm?”

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In his response, the First Minister said HIW recently carried out an inspection of the service “because of the number of concerns that had been raised with them” and said they would await the outcome of the report.  

He said: "I'm aware of the complaints that have been made about the Nant y Glyn community mental health team service. I know that one of the reasons why HIW recently carried out an inspection of the service was because of the number of concerns that had been raised with them. The health board itself would say that action has been taken and that the number of complaints last year was below the number of complaints received in 2022. I myself spoke with the vice-chair of the board - the newly appointed vice chair, Gareth Williams, who will lead for the board on mental health services. He was immediately aware of the nature of the concerns that have been raised, and he echoed many of the things that the local member has raised.

"We will await the report of that HIW inspection."

This report is due for publication in April.
 
Mr Millar voiced concern over the inspection regime.
 
He said: “I am concerned that the inspection regime is insufficient. It does not always include patient experiences or reaching out to patients who have made their experiences known to elected representatives like me. I would therefore urge the Welsh Government to encourage HIW to look at its inspection framework to ensure that engagement with elected representatives and patients is paramount in terms of one of the pillars of their inspection regime in the future, including on the Nant y Glyn experiences that my constituents have been experiencing.” 
 
Ms Neagle said she would make enquiries as to whether there was feedback sought from service users, and assured Mr Millar that she would “look at it (the report) and make sure that everything that needs to be followed up is followed up."

BCUHB confirmed that Mr Millar is "constantly in contact" with the health board about issues with his constituency, including Nant y Glyn, and it continues to update him on a regular basis.