Concerns have been raised about the number of fluent Welsh speaking staff in North Wales mental health services.

Figures from a Freedom of Information request to Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board show that 224 staff working in the mental health division are proficient in Welsh, representing 11.58% of  the staff in this area.

182 (9.41%) staff members were listed as having an intermediate level of Welsh and 164  (8.48%) were at an advanced level.

And in areas like Gwynedd and Anglesey with large majorities of Welsh speakers there are concerns that the lack of staff who can communicate fluently with a patient in their first language could be bad for their health.

Manon Elin, from Cymdeithas yr Iaith said: “We are concerned about this. We as a movement often receive complaints from our members about the lack of health services available in Welsh.

“This is particularly important with mental health matters since speaking and communicating is such a crucial part of the treatment and the recovery process. The patient needs to express their feelings properly in order to get a correct diagnosis.

“Communication problems can lead to misdiagnosis and misunderstanding.

“People use mental health services when they are at their most fragile, so it’s essential that they can communicate in the language they feel most comfortable speaking.

“It’s important that services are available in Welsh, and are offered to the patients pro-actively, rather than the patient being responsible for asking for them.

“Frequently users of mental health service are not in a position to insist on their rights to service in Welsh, and requesting a Welsh service can feel out of place in such a situation.”

The health board said that the number of Welsh speakers in the service was close to North Wales’ levels of Welsh speakers, with 20% having some knowledge of the language and 30% being the figure for those who have an intermediate, advanced or proficient standard.

Figures from 2016 showed the North Wales board had the highest number of Welsh speakers in mental health services in the country.

A Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board spokeswoman said: “We recognise how important it is for all of our patients to be able to communicate in a language they feel most comfortable speaking.

“This is especially important for people who receive support, care and treatment from our mental health services.

“Almost one third of our mental health staff (30%) are Welsh speakers, with a further 20% having some level of Welsh language skills.

“We have made improving our Welsh language mental healthcare provision a priority and we introduced a number of initiatives to support this.

“Welsh language training has been identified as a key priority for us to ensure we are able to deliver services bilingually.

“We appointed a full time Welsh Language tutor last year to support this effort.

“We offer tailored courses for our staff within Adult Mental Health and also our Dementia Care Workers and Specialist Nurses.”