Emergencies handled by Northland's mental health services have gone up 100per cent over five years and there has been a big increase in referrals from the police.
Including that huge spike in crisis events, cases seen by Northland District Health Board's mental health and addiction services have increased from 2750 to 3300 over the period, or about 4 per cent growth per year.
Referrals by police have increased by 75 per cent in three years and there has been a 40 per cent rise in times a clinician sees a client in police cells. There has also been a 71 per cent increase over five years in cases referred under the Mental Health Act, NDHB sector manager Kim Tito said.
Seventy four people with mental health issues turned up at Northland emergency departments in June this year, up by 80 per cent from 41 in June 201. Provisional statistics show 28 suicides in Northland for the year ending June 30, compared to 21 the previous year.
Whangarei's primary health sector - general practitioners and other services outside the public hospital arena - are also finding demand often outweighs the capability to provide services.
