If it is an emergency and you or someone else is at risk, call 111. It is not a hopeless situation." Where to get help "There's also a lot of really good care that is happening. "We absolutely acknowledge there is a lot of concern out there," Culver said. Officials are also working on a range of initiatives to expand the mental health workforce, across specialist, primary and peer-led services. Would we like more? Absolutely."Ĭulver said the Ministry is preparing to publish a new system and service framework by October that will detail its vision for mental health services and bring greater clarity and consistency to the sector. But they also said they recognise the frustrations across other parts of the system and are working to address them.Īsked whether $19 million set aside in the latest budget to expand child and adolescent services - which are at "crisis point" across the country - is enough to rectify a long-standing gap in funding relative to adult services and to relieve the pressure they're facing, Culver said: "It's a good start.
#FREE PEOPLE AROUND THE CLOCK FREE#
Grady and Culver defended the government's flagship $455 million primary care initiative, the "Access and Choice" programme, arguing that they are creating from scratch a much-needed free service that will eventually help to improve the population's wellbeing and reduce the number of people who develop severe problems. While that was a gap that needed addressing, people across the sector say there is an urgent need for more attention and investment in other parts of the system, ranging from prevention programmes to specialist hospital-based services. Until now, the various DHBs pursued their own policies and none were resourced to keep up with the rising need.Īlthough Labour made mental health one of its top policy priorities when it returned to power in 2017 and has invested about $2 billion in mental health-related policies, it chose to focus on early intervention for people with mild conditions in primary care settings. While there are initiatives under way in some parts of the country to improve crisis response - including embedding mental health clinicians around-the-clock in some EDs and establishing facilities run by people with experience of mental illness that people in distress can go to instead of hospitals - these services are not universally available. New data from the Ministry of Health reveals there were 5,855 people under the age of 25 seen in emergency departments for a mental health crisis last year, a figure that has increased 140 per cent in ten years. In a major ongoing investigation, the Herald has exposed how a disjointed, underfunded and understaffed public mental health system that was already stretched before Covid-19 has been pushed to the brink by the pandemic.Ī tide of mental illness and distress that was already rising steadily for a decade - particularly among children and teenagers - has been amplified by the coronavirus outbreak, overwhelming not only specialist mental health services, but also GPs, schools, charities, police, and hospital emergency departments.
#FREE PEOPLE AROUND THE CLOCK SERIES#
"We're not where we want to be," Grady said, acknowledging the concerns raised by dozens of families in the Herald's Great Minds series about the difficulties they've experienced while trying to get help for loved ones whose mental health was collapsing. In a rare interview, they spoke jointly to the Herald about their priorities in the new set-up. Grady is one of two senior officials responsible for overseeing Labour's promised mental health reforms in the new system, alongside Dr Arran Culver, the acting deputy director-general for mental health at the Ministry of Health. Philip Grady, head of mental health services at Te Whatu Ora - Health New Zealand, said establishing a consistent, accessible mental health service across the country is top-of-mind in the new unified health structure, which last month merged all 20 district health boards into a single operating body. Senior officials responsible for overhauling the mental health system have told the Herald they're committed to building a comprehensive national crisis-response service after growing concerns about the lack of support for people in acute psychological distress. From left: Philip Grady from Te Whatu Ora, Aroha Metcalf from Te Aka Whai Ora, the Māori health authority, and Dr Arran Culver, acting deputy director-general at the Ministry of Health.
Officials responsible for overseeing mental health in the restructured health system.
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