Changes to mental health services
A restructure of the region’s mental health services aims to provide improved, round-the-clock support for those in crisis, but some say the changes have been brought on due to underfunding.
Nelson Marlborough Health confirmed the changes to its immediate response and after-hours mental health services last month.
But the Public Service Association (PSA), New Zealand’s largest union, said it showed the health board was struggling to fund community mental health treatment due to Government underfunding, which meant effective mental health services would be lost.
Nelson Marlborough Health general manager of mental health and addictions Jane Kinsey said changes were made so people would have ‘‘easy and timely access to services’’.
The restructure meant there would be one roster of staff for people of all ages needing crisis and acute mental health support. Staff would work on a 24-hour roster and would no longer be on call, but awake and on site in the emergency department during the night.
Kinsey said previously staff on call would be woken up when needed, which could result in them working up to 20 hours at a time.
The Child and Adolescent Mental Health (CAMHS) after hours crisis service and Home Based Treatment Team had been incorporated into one service and patients would be cared for by the same nurses, social workers, psychiatrists and occupational therapists in one unit.
Kinsey said all clinicians would be trained to work with children and young people. They would have access to on-call CAMHS clinicians and senior psychiatrists 24/7 if required.
As a result of the restructure, one managerial role would be disestablished and not replaced and four additional fulltime mental health specialists would be appointed.
During the consultation stage almost 100 responses were received from staff and external organisations, including the PSA, on the proposal.
Kinsey said it was the health board’s desire to work in partnership with the union and it had adjusted the restructure based on the feedback from the PSA.
However, a Nelson Marlborough Health staff member, who did not want to be named, said frontline workers did not agree with the restructure.
The staff member was ‘‘gravely concerned’’ the rate of suicide in the region would increase as a result.
‘‘The expertise of staff will be under utilised, smaller regions are best served when staff expertise is fully utilised in dedicated teams.’’
PSA national secretary Erin Polaczuk said the union believed the restructure was ‘‘completely avoidable’’ and was a result of underfunding in the health sector. ‘‘The fact that our members who work in mental health want us to speak out on their behalf about this is a really strong signal.’’
She said the PSA believed the restructure would be ‘‘seriously damaging’’ to the community.
Polaczuk said the CAMHS service which looked after those up to the age of 18 was unique to the region. In the last 14 years there had only been one suicide of a client in the care of CAMHS, which showed its efforts in the community had been working.
Kinsey disputed the PSA’s claims and said they were ‘‘an attempt to undermine the public confidence in our mental health services’’. She said the changes were not related to a lack of funding.
‘‘There are no cost savings associated with these changes. Funding will be reallocated to pay for four new specialist mental roles and new patient support security roles.’’
She said trust and confidence in mental health services were critical in getting people and their families to seek help: ‘‘It is unfair and misleading of the PSA to attempt to undermine the public confidence of people in our region in our mental health services.’’