Health Alliance shutting down

The Rural Health Alliance Aotearoa New Zealand (RHAANZ) has begun shutting its doors thanks to a lack of support from the Government, and may not be able to provide mental health services into the future, according to National Party spokesmen Matt Doocey (mental health) and Matt King (Northland, rural communities).

“It has been confirmed that the RHAANZ will begin shutting its doors because they don’t have critical infrastructure to hold government contracts, including the rural mental health initiative, after the government failed to commit funding (of $600,000) to ensure it could continue,” Mr Doocey said.

“RHAANZ’s current contract to provide mental health services will continue until June, but the Government’s unwillingness to contribute to ongoing core funding means that the organisation is now winding down.

“The Rural Health Alliance is the best-placed organisation to provide life-saving mental health services to rural communities, and this move by the Government puts at risk the continuity of the provision of these services,” he added.

Mr King said National had supported the Alliance’s request for ongoing operating funding outside its existing contracts because it knew that rural communities had different needs and faced special challenges, especially when it came to accessing mental health services.

“The RHAANZ provides suicide prevention workshops and carries out important research into rural mental health. It also upskills rural health professionals in suicide prevention strategies, and oversees a clinical champion network to work alongside the Rural Support Trusts (RSTs) across the country,” he said.

“Those in rural communities are less likely to reach out for mental health support, and that’s one of the reasons why the work the Alliance does is so vital.

“It is deeply disappointing that around 600,000 New Zealanders in rural communities will no longer have the support of the Rural Health Alliance.”