Mental health boost for Canterbury
More support is coming for the increasing number of Cantabrians with mental health issues that could be effectively helped in general practices.
Three Canterbury primary health organisations (PHOs) will receive a mental health funding boost as part of a $6 million Government package.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Health Minister David Clark announced the initiative in Auckland yesterday, the first major investment in primary mental health from Budget 2019.
The three Canterbury practices to receive a share of the funding are Pegasus PHO’s Doctors on Riccarton and Piki Te Ora in Christchurch, and Waitaha PHO’s Three Rivers Ashburton.
The funding boost comes as New Zealand suicide rates have reached their highest level, with 685 people committing suicide in the year to June 30.
Nationally, there are 22 practices with existing but unfunded mental health services that will share the $6m funding, aimed at helping 170,000 New Zealanders into receiving mental health support at their local medical centres. The Ministry of Health also plans to put out to tender
$30m of contracts for free frontline mental health services in new areas, to be up and running from early 2020.
Pegasus PHO chief executive Vince Barry said two of its practices had had mental health practitioners available on site for about eight months, offering immediate engagement with those showing signs of needing support.
Support tended to be either technical and clinical engagement, or some general health coaching that connected people into the community system.
Barry anticipated the $30m of tenders would be to see that model scaled up across the country.
At Pegasus’ other practices without onsite support, counsellors contacted those showing signs of needing support within
24 hours but it could be a couple of weeks before they could see the person, and some people just did not show up, he said.
There was ‘‘significant need’’ for more mental health support in Canterbury, as there were clearly issues from events in the region, including the earthquakes and the mosque shootings in March.
‘‘We are seeing increasing numbers of people with levels of distress that can get managed quite effectively in general practice,’’
‘‘We are seeing increasing numbers of people with levels of distress that can get managed quite effectively in general practice.’’ Pegasus PHO chief executive officer Vince Barry, pictured
Barry said.
The funding would help lift the competency of practices, increasing the resources available and encouraging coaching between members.
‘‘You are not going to see something massively change in three years because of this but you are going to see a generational change from it.’’
Ardern said the announcement meant the existing providers had the certainty they needed to invest in their workforce and facilities.
‘‘It makes sense to start with those providers already offering mental health support but who have not been previously directly funded by Government for it and who did not have certainty of funding.’’
Clark said the Government needed to ‘‘make it easier for people to get help early, so that we can prevent small issues becoming major problems’’.
‘‘That is what these services are designed to do. Having a mental health worker on hand when people turn up at primary care in distress means there is support available immediately.’’
The Government wanted to normalise mental health and get to a place where people felt as comfortable going to their local GP about a mental health issue as they would any other health issue.