Mental health spend makes little impact
Government slated as more youngsters struggle during Covid
The Government’s major $1.9 billion mental health budget has not seen improvements “materialise” as hoped, a major report has found. It comes as Health Minister Andrew Little yesterday launched a major recruitment drive for mental health nurses.
A report released yesterday from the Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission found despite “significant investment” since 2019, few improvements had been seen.
National Party mental health spokesman Matt Doocey said it raised the question of where the $1.9 billion mental health package announced in 2019 had gone.
Little yesterday launched a campaign to recruit mental health nurses and met nurses who feature in the campaign at Middlemore Hospital.
He also joined Sir John Kirwan to launch Groov, a mental health and wellbeing app that aims to create a culture of wellbeing in workplaces.
The Government had funded 234 new-entry places for registered nurses this year to specialise in mental health, Little said, and he hoped the “You’re Ready” campaign could help double that number.
This initiative was funded from the $77 million workforce development fund, part of the 2019 Wellbeing Budget, Little said.
Meanwhile, the Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission’s latest report, released yesterday, found that despite “significant investment”, improvements in services “have not materialised as we had hoped for over this time”, commission board chair Hayden Wano said.
“We commend the investment in additional and much-needed primary and community services, but more is needed to address pressures on specialist services, particularly for young people.”
The review found alongside an increase in young people accessing mental health services, they faced longer wait times.
In 2020/21 just 65 per cent of people aged under 19 were seen in the first three weeks of their referral — below the 80 per cent target, and 87 per cent within eight weeks — below 95 per cent target.
Antidepressant dispensing had increased 21 per cent in the year to 2020/21 and antipsychotics initial dispensing by 18 per cent over the same period.
The report also found an overall increase in solitary confinement from 2016 to 2020, with Māori disproportionately affected.
The Government’s 2019 budget boost was in response to the Inquiry into Mental Health and Addiction (He Ara Oranga), which estimated the annual cost of serious mental illness, including addiction, at $12 billion.
Little has voiced frustration at the slow pace with which parts of the $1.9 billion mental health package announced in 2019 was being rolled out — in particular the $235m set aside for building new mental health and addiction facilities. After that, steps were put in place to try to fast-track some of those measures.
Doocey said the review findings reinforced what he’d be hearing from the mental health sector.
“They have been raising these concerns with the Government for months about staff shortages and growing waiting lists, but have not received a response.
“The findings in the report also show that our specialist services are facing increased demand since the beginning of the pandemic, especially from younger people.”
The commission said current health reforms, including Health NZ and Māori Health Authority, provided opportunities for improvements.
“This also creates an opportunity to hear the voices of Māori and people with lived experience and provide a greater choice of supports,” Wano said.
On the positive, services had been maintained through the pandemic and public health services and community-based organisations were collaborating.
“Enormous effort is going on to effect changes like this, which we believe will ultimately pay huge dividends in service improvement.”
Last year the Government set out a 10-year mental health plan outlining the short-, medium- and long-term steps in areas such as technology and the workforce. However, it was criticised for a lack of specific targets.
Little also set up an oversight group to keep an eye on the progress of that plan.