Families’ anguish laid bare

Some 127 mental health patients, workers and family members turned up to make the Mental Health and Addiction Inquiry’s meeting in Palmerston North – which nearly didn’t happen – one of the biggest in the country.

Organisers had to bring in extra seating yesterday for the inquiry’s final stop on its nationwide tour.

The inquiry launched its national tour in Palmerston North in April, but then reneged on an undertaking to return.

But after protests, no less so than from Tauranga couple Carey and Owen Hume, whose 21-yearold daughter Erica’s death at Palmerston North Hospital four years ago was one of the triggers for the inquiry, the panel changed its mind and came back.

Even with time extensions to allow about 20 people to have their say, many missed out and were left to talk to panel members informally or hand in written submissions.

Some talked about recovery and positive experiences. But most talked about a system many described as broken. Some wept, others were shaken. Most were desperate to be heard.

Carey Hume shared years of shortcomings in her daughter’s care before her last hospital admission.

Erica’s parents were not told about the teenager’s first efforts to find a counsellor and get medication and support, and the Privacy Act was used to withhold information later on.

They also struggled to ensure there was continuity of care between services and across district health board boundaries. They touched on issues that panel member Sir Mason Durie said were among the main themes that emerged around New Zealand.

Failure to involve families as part of the plan for caring for the person who was unwell was a story they had heard ‘‘over and over’’.

Without good information, shared with families and with the network of services involved, quality care could not be achieved. Many people had talked about the need for respite care, and the shortage of acute beds limiting access despite the desperate distress people were suffering.

Durie said people talked about barriers to getting help, the need for mental health workers to be better supported, and the importance of strong communities capable of supporting those with mental health problems.

The panel was urged to work quickly to come up with recommendations that could be turned into action without delay or, as one speaker predicted, ‘‘we will have 1200 more suicides if you wait two years’’.