The GSD have issued a statement highlighting ongoing challenges in Gibraltar’s mental health services.

A statement from the GSD follows below:

Seven years after a critical 2019 Report on Mental Health Services conducted by NHS England it is clear that  similar themes of broken systems, unclear policies and protocols continue to affect the delivery of mental  health services. Worse still and 5 years after the Government, with much fanfare, published its 2021-26  Mental Health Strategy it is obvious that some of the promises made then have still not been carried out. 

This is why despite some welcome improvements noted in the 2025 Gibraltar Mental Health Board’s Annual  Inspection Report fundamental issues continue to impact the effectiveness of service delivery and the lives  of individuals and families who rely on the provision of mental health services.  

Amongst those concerns, the continued lack of a Code of Practice under the Mental Health Act 2016 stands  out. This was promised in 2021, and its absence means that mental health professionals are left with  uncertainty as to what is considered best practice and the safeguards for service users aren’t clear or robust.  

Shadow Heath Minister Joelle Ladislaus said: “A lack of clinical guidelines, standardised policies and protocols  appears to be an issue across the GHA, which we have raised in Parliament, and will continue to raise if the  issues continue to remain unresolved. It was a theme of the 2019 NHS England Report on Mental Health that  led to the 2021-26 strategy. The Code is an essential part of ensuring accountability under the Mental Health  Act and the Government should publish it without further delay.” 

It is clear from a reading of the 2025 MHB Report that, just as in other areas within the GHA, there is still an  overreliance on temporary staff within mental health services, where continuity of care is critical for patient  wellbeing and outcomes. For example, the Report specifically notes that “…two bank staff members have  been working in OVH [Ocean Views Hospital] for more than four years. This highlights the continued use of  long-term temporary staff in core service areas and may warrant review in terms of recruitment strategy,  workforce stability and opportunities for permanent appointment where appropriate.” 

Another key topic emphasised within the 2025 Report is the relocation of the Community Mental Health  Team (“the CMHT”) to Sir Joshua Hassan House, and the commencement of a new centralised model of care  under what will be known as the Mental Health Hub. Again, these are long-standing themes where little  progress has been made. There have been grandiose announcements about locating the CMHT at the old  Chronicle offices made by the Minister for Health which have been subsequently abandoned as well as lack  of consultation with Mental Health professionals. A glaring example of such lack of consultation was the now  also abandoned plan to relocate the acute ward from Ocean Views Hospital to the Hub, which was only  brought to the attention of the CMHT Development Group overseeing the strategic direction and key  decisions relating to the CMHT move 9 months after the Government announced the plans relating to the  Mental Health Hub. 

Ms Ladislaus added: “Listening to the experts should not be a tick box exercise, it should be a given, more so  when it involves the care of mental health patients. The issues outlined are not the only ones emphasised  within the Report, but they are issues which demonstrate themes across the GHA that the Opposition have  been raising for some years.  

Theories aren’t action. What looks great on paper but doesn’t function in the real world isn’t a success. Big  changes need careful thought and the right infrastructure to succeed. Service users continue to experience  issues that are avoidable with the introduction of simpler measures, like a transition to digital reporting  systems, the strengthening of formal mechanisms for staff consultation and communication and the  provision of an on-site GP at CMHT, and not just the announcement of hugely complex projects which take  years to come to fruition and leave vulnerable service users in limbo in the meantime. 

It is clear from the Report that the Government need to get the basics right before moving to a totally new  model of care like the Mental Health Hub, and implementation of roles/processes can’t be delayed until that  new model of care is established, there must be a transition period, during which services are also improved.”