'We need to do more than just talk about mental health'

"The conversation is obviously important, but there's still a lot more work that needs to be done."

After the Prince and Princess of Wales took over BBC Newsbeat to discuss mental health, some listeners such as 21-year-old Abbey have said there needs to be greater government help for mental health services.

"I'm still trying to get that support," she says, after being diagnosed with PTSD.

Abbey has struggled with her identity from a young age - growing up in a setting where her sexuality was not embraced.

"So it's been rocky, and I'm still waiting to get that therapy."

WATCH: William and Kate's Mental Health Takeover

Abbey says she has experienced homophobic bullying

Luke, 18, agrees with Abbey on the need for greater support. He says that being on numerous waiting lists caused his mental health to deteriorate.

He was diagnosed with PTSD aged 12. When Luke was in school, he experienced racism and bullying from his peers, which had an impact on his mental health.

"[The show] highlighted a lot of the issues that we have, and the lack of support that we've got from the government at the moment," Luke, who lives in Northampton, said.

"So it's really good that the royals have [discussed the issue], but I definitely think that it's going to take a lot more to get where we need to be."

In a statement to Newsbeat, the government has said it is investing "£79 million in 2021/22 alone" to expand services, adding "young people's mental health is a major priority".

"We are also expanding mental health support teams, which now cover more than 2.4 million pupils - and will reach 3 million by 2024."

A spokesman added the money will enable "22,000 more children and young people to get help from community mental health services".

Luke was diagnosed with PTSD at 13

"I thought the broadcast was on one hand great, because it's great for getting so much publicity about mental health," Nicky, who has emotionally unstable personality disorder and depression, said.

However, the 23-year-old added: "They're educating others, which is great, but we need to do a lot more than [tackle] stigma".

She'd like to see "more funding for nurses" and "less stigma around psychiatric admissions".

Nicky wants more funding for nurses

Specialist children's mental health services turned away one in four children referred to them for treatment in 2019, according to the Local Government Association.

Figures also suggest around 75% of young people with a mental health problem are forced to wait so long their condition worsens or they're unable to access any treatment at all.

Nicky, who lives in Scotland, says that she now has a great team supporting her, but that this "hasn't always been the case".

In Scotland, the government says demand is up and the aim is for 90% of people who need help to start treatment within four and a half months.

The Welsh government told Newsbeat: "We've provided extra funding to the NHS in Wales to reduce mental health waiting times, improve services and support more people.

"We're also providing more than £43m over the next three years to support wellbeing in schools, which will help young people to access support earlier if they need it."

The government in Northern Ireland has not yet responded to Newsbeat.

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