Mental health care overwhelmed
Hospital resources for patients suffering extreme distress are stretched to breaking point. Talia Shadwell reports.
Mental health services face a crisis as demand for beds runs at twice the availability, newly released figures show.
Ministry of Health statistics released under the Official Information Act show there are 590 hospital beds nationally for crisis cases, yet in the 2015-2016 financial year, nearly 13,000 people needed an overnight stay.
That’s approximately 35 people a day needing beds, each staying an average of between two and three weeks – meaning there are potentially twice as many patients needing beds as there are spaces available to accommodate them.
A worker has told of patients discharged too soon to make space for newcomers before bouncing back to the ward within weeks.
Carey and Owen Hume know the human toll. Their daughter, 21-year-old student Erica Hume, died in Palmerston North Hospital’s Ward 21 in May 2014.
The Humes have worked with the MidCentral District Health Board to change the culture at the ward. Another patient, Shaun Gray, had died in the same unit just a month earlier.
The board commissioned an external review, which found complex issues – from high pressure on beds, to a lack of leadership and staff inertia.
It has overhauled its systems since Hume’s death, with her parents’ input.
The Humes say the squeeze on the country’s mental health must urgently be addressed.
They recently fought to have reports on their daughter’s death published publicly, and to have her referred to by her name rather than ‘‘Patient A’’ in the paperwork – hoping to touch the emotions of authorities dealing with her case.
‘‘As you go up into the Ministry of Health it’s just a spin and PR machine and nothing to do with the health of the people, helping people or saving them,’’ Carey Hume said.
‘‘They need to know it’s a person, every time this comes up, it means something – she’s not just a number, and people forget that.’’
Auckland mental health worker Andy Colwell, a Public Service Association representative, said mental health wards were constantly operating over-capacity.
‘‘I think what’s happening is that we are under-resourced in terms of staffing, and under-resourced in the community. . . and that’s resulting in more people going to hospital.’’
That resulted in pressure to discharge acute inpatients to make space for newcomers. Sometimes they were discharged to inappropriate accommodation, such as boarding houses, where they were exposed to drugs and alcohol, and people who exploited them, he claimed.
The same patients would then front up to acute services repeatedly.
This placed pressure on hospital mental health workers, trying to balance demand with decisions about safety, Colwell said.
The Mental Health Foundation says the demand for services has increased by 70 per cent in the past 10 years.
And New Zealand’s suicide rates are reaching record levels – with 579 deaths in 2015/2016 – the highest rates since the Coroner’s office started keeping records in 2008.
The issue came to prominence when TV comedian Jono Pryor broke down on national television in grief over the March 10 death of his friend Tim Hutchens.
Green Party health spokeswoman Julie Ann Genter said an inquiry into the mental health system was needed.
‘‘There is insufficient funding to meet the need out in the community. There’s a human cost to this inaction.’’
The Ministry of Health was unable to comment on the issue by deadline yesterday after being contacted for a response on Thursday.