Children and teens’ long wait for care
Teenagers with mental health problems are being forced to wait more than eight weeks to get an appointment as the sector strains to deal with a sharp increase in demand.
Between 2012 and 2016, the number of people under 19 needing non-urgent mental healthcare in the Midcentral District Health Board district rose from 557 to 786.
In 2016, 39 of those patients, 21 of whom were under 12, had to wait more than eight weeks for an appointment.
By comparison, 19 teens and children waited that long in 2012.
A Midcentral official says the delays are rare, and caused by patient reluctance and staff availability. But the Mental Health Foundation says eight weeks is too long.
Foundation chief executive Shaun Robinson said there were too many instances of people not getting the care they need. ‘‘We share the concerns of many New Zealanders that our mental health system is sometimes overloaded.
‘‘That said, sometimes it’s just a matter of supporting young people and their families to learn about the services available to them and how to best access them.’’
In 2016, 230 children under 12 received care for non-urgent mental health problems. ‘‘It’s not easy being a young person and the distress isn’t just spontaneously occurring,’’ Robinson said.
The numbers showed there was a need to investigate why more young people aren’t coping and how to better support them when tough times arise. They also partly suggested that young people were increasingly less afraid to ask for help.
Robinson credited online mental health sites like The Lowdown, Sparx, Common Ground and Youthline for encouraging young people to ask for help.
He said there needed to be more promotion of positive mental health and wellbeing strategies from a young age. ‘‘We’d like to see schools enabling young people to practise these in their day-to-day lives.’’
Midcentral mental health and addictions services clinical director Syed Ahmer said delays were often out of their control.
Ahmer said it was only on ‘‘rare occasions’’ that a young person was not seen within eight weeks of their referral.
Delays could occur due to reluctance of the individual or family to attend an appointment. ‘‘In this instance, the service may be required to work with other agencies to support the person to attend a first assessment.’’
The availability of staff could also influence the timing of appointments. The Child Adolescent Family service was currently reviewing how to improve efficiencies.
The service received a high number of referrals, most of which were seen within the three-week target. ‘‘With improvements to the process, the service will improve on this percentage with a goal of reducing the wait times further.’’
He said the issue was occurring across New Zealand. ‘‘This rise could be for a range of factors, including improved visibility of and access to services, increased awareness of the importance of mental wellbeing, poverty, and family violence.’’
Green Party health spokeswoman Julie Anne Genter said the problem stemmed from underfunding. ‘‘There is only so much they can do with limited funding. Midcentral is constrained by the policy set at the national level.’’
She said an inquiry would figure out the best way to respond. ‘‘There might be other ways of helping people through these hard times. There might be other ways of addressing the cause.’’