The standards define the outcomes and standards which services must deliver, from same-day open access support to trauma-informed care for people who have self-harmed.

Cabinet secretary for health and social care, Jeremy Miles, said: ‘These standards will ensure people have access to consistent, compassionate and effective mental health support wherever they are in Wales.

‘We are moving to a new future of open access services in Wales, so people can receive the help they need at an earlier stage and prevent them reaching crisis point. These standards will help us improve mental healthcare and reach our ambition.'

The Mental Health Quality Statement sets out nine core components to redesign services around the goal of open access care, moving away from traditional tiered models toward a more flexible, recovery-focused system.

These include programmes being designed with people who bring diverse perspectives and experiences, trauma-informed approaches being clearly and consistently integrated at all levels of care, services being flexible, data-informed and collaborative and care being person centred.

The Self-harm Quality Statement identifies six pillars of high-quality care: immediate treatment, trauma-informed support, continuity of care, safety planning, holistic signposting and skilled responders.

The standards support the delivery of the actions in the ambitious Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy and the Suicide Prevention and Self-Harm Strategy and are designed to help Wales become the first nation to deliver same-day, open access mental health care.