A community forum meeting has been arranged in response to the decline in young people’s mental health services, resulting in the tragic loss of a number of young lives in recent years. The forum is to be held on Friday, from noon to 2 pm, in the Cleddau Bridge Hotel, Pembroke Dock.

The forum has been arranged by the group ‘Improving Young People’s Mental Health Services in Pembrokeshire’, with the aim of engaging stakeholder and identifying gaps in service provision. They have invited the local community to identify the issues which are the most important to them ahead of the forum - these include school counselling services, budgets and spending, and the need for preventative healthcare and education to recognise the early signs of mental health problems.

The forum panel will contain, amongst others, Dr. Kristy Fenton and Sarah Burgess (Hywel Dda University Health Board), Maxine Thomas (Pembrokeshire College), Angie Tinley (Young People’s Counselling Service), and Hayley Wood (Age Cymru Community Ages Together Co-ordinator). Local MPs, AMs, county and community councillors and local mental health organisations have also been invited to the event.

Matthew Watkins, a co-founder of the group, said: “Services for young people and their families dealing with mental health issues in Pembrokeshire are vastly oversubscribed, which leads to long waiting times and ultimately an increased risk for those children. Through the forum, we want to raise awareness of the issues affecting young people and engage with the community and stakeholders to identify the key areas where work can be done to improve mental health services for young people in the area.”

Suzannah Palmer, also a co-founder of the group, commented: “We wish to hear from as many people and organisations as possible and all are welcome to attend.”