Around 2,000 adults with severe and enduring mental health problems are still waiting for six months or more to access specialist psychological therapies in Wales, according to new figures.

Statistics collated by Mind Cymru through Freedom of Information requests to all seven local health boards reveal that more than 750 more people had been waiting for a year or longer.

The figures show up to 7,500 people currently remain on waiting lists each month for talking therapies in Wales, and an average of nearly 6,000 each month since April 2019.

Some months within that time have seen more than 3,000 people waiting more than six months to be seen. At least 700 people have been waiting for 12 months or more each month since April 2019, and at certain points more than 1,300 people for more than a year.

The data follows Wales’ first minister taking the positive step to include mental health services when tackling patient waiting times in Wales, as a recently identified priority for the Welsh Government.

Mind Cymru is also calling for the Welsh Government to increase capacity for specialist psychological therapies.

The charity wants stricter guidelines on the way local health boards report and share waiting time data, and for these figures to be made public.

Sue O ‘Leary, director at Mind Cymru, said: "“People on these waiting lists are living with serious and enduring mental health conditions. Nobody should be waiting more than a year for specialist psychological therapies.

“In 2015, the Welsh Government earmarked £2 million for improving access to psychological therapies as part of its Together for Mental Health strategy and nearly 10 years on, we’re no closer to knowing if that strategy is working or not."