DHBs fail to use mental health funds

The failure of mental healthcare services to spend nearly $17 million of their Government allocations is a tragedy, says a support group.

Health Minister Annette King says district health boards (DHBs) nationally ended the last financial year with $16.8 million of unspent mental healthcare money.

This follows the Mental Health Commission's finding that despite big increases in state spending on mental healthcare, corresponding rises in the number of severely ill patients being seen by services may have stalled.

" ... I am concerned that the carried-forward amount has increased, rather than decreased," Ms King says in a letter to Auckland board chairman Wayne Brown.

"I strongly reiterate that mental health services need to be rapidly increased and improved ...

"It is imperative that DHBs place greater priority on achieving appropriate increases in local and regional mental health services," says the letter, contained in board meeting papers.

The Government has "ring-fenced" its mental healthcare funding - more than $900 million this year - meaning it must be spent on mental health services.

Patricia Perkins, secretary of the family support and mental healthcare lobby group Caring Communities, yesterday termed the underspending a tragedy. It would have contributed to the mental healthcare system being less safe by restricting access to treatment and care.

"The most urgent necessity in our view is making some provision for the chronically ill who have very little chance of ever being able to live a normal life," she said.

Health boards have struggled to cope with the demand for mental healthcare services. Some hospitals' acute units have been like a revolving door, at times discharging patients before they are well enough, to make room for new ones.

The Auckland regional director of mental healthcare services, Derek Wright, attributed the underspending partly to an international shortage of psychiatrists and mental health nurses, and to funding in the past arriving for new services before they could be set up.

The Auckland board's mental healthcare funder and planner, Linzi Jones, said it intended to spend some of the $5.3 million that it had carried forward on respite care for young adults who were experiencing their first episode of mental illness.

"We may be able to avoid them going into the inpatient unit, which can be quite traumatic for young people and their families."

Wellington Mental Health Consumers' Union manager Sarah Porter said she favoured putting the underspent money into such areas as cognitive behaviour therapy or personalised care packages, rather than on expanding inpatient acute units.

New services

* District health boards nationally did not spend $16.8 million of their mental healthcare allocations in the year to last June.

* The Auckland board accounted for $5.3 million of this.

* It now plans to spend the money on:

* An unspecified number of "packages of care" to help patients live independently in the community.

* Respite care to keep young adults, who are experiencing their first bout of severe mental illness, out of hospital.

* A co-ordinator to improve management of hospital discharges.