Cardiff mum calls for more mental health support for those suffering during pandemic

  • Video report by ITV Wales journalist, Megan Boot

A mum from Cardiff has called for better mental health funding and support for people needing help in a crisis during the coronavirus pandemic.

Laura Williams has launched her second petition calling for more funding and an improvement in waiting times for people needing help in a crisis. 

The petition has had thousands of signatures.

Speaking to ITV Wales, Laura described a recent experience she had when visiting a hospital in Cardiff.

She had gone in with chest pains but also wanted to speak to someone about her mental health. However, she said there was no one she could talk to.

Laura said: "You go up there and they're like, we can't help you, go back to your GP - it's not good enough there should be something in place for people who are suffering.

The health board said everyone in the emergency unit is trained in mental health triage.

It added that there are dedicated psychiatric nurses available if an urgent mental health assessment is needed and that Ms Williams was treated appropriately for symptoms of chest pain.

Laura Williams suffered PTSD after experiencing a stillbirth

According to the UK Household Longitudinal Study, there has been a 50% increase in people experiencing mental health problems this April when compared to April 2019.

Laura became a mental health campaigner after developing PTSD in 2016 after her son Leo was stillborn. Alun Thomas, the chief executive of the mental health charity Hafal is supporting her petition.

Laura described a negative experience she had when she went to the University Hospital of Wales and asked for mental health help

He said: “Part of our challenge is our systems are clearly not fit for dealing with covid.

"We’ve had a massive reduction in the availability of face to face slots, but we’ve also had a bit of a knee-jerk reaction, I think, from some of the local authorities where services have virtually gone into shutdown."

The Welsh Government said they're doing everything they can to ensure people can access the right support when they need it and have put an extra £8.5 million pounds into mental health services.