Mental health services for mums strained

By MARTIN JOHNSTON health reporter

New mothers suffering post-natal depression are being turned away from specialist services set up to help them, because of underfunding and the spiralling number of cases.

Auckland Healthcare's maternal mental health service will not take any new referrals until the end of October and Waitemata Health is providing only a restricted service.

In a letter to general practitioners, obtained by the Herald yesterday, an Auckland Healthcare manager, Eileen Swan, suggests new patients be managed by their GP or referred to Auckland Healthcare's general mental health services.

She said the maternal service's five equivalent-fulltime staff were caring for up to 100 pregnant women and new mothers with mental illnesses. Any increase would be unsafe.

Up to 40 women a month are referred to the service, compared with 25 after it was opened in 1995.

The clinical leader of Auckland Healthcare's mental health services, Dr Nick Argyle, attributed the big increase to greater recognition of maternal mental health problems rather than a rise in the number of women afflicted by them.

Referring cases to the general mental health services would increase their workload but "being under stress is a normal situation for them."

He said no extra funding was scheduled for Auckland Healthcare's maternal mental health service although it was seen as a priority for more resources. Keeping mothers well was important not only for them but also for the baby and the family.

A spokeswoman for Waitemata Health, Caroline Mackersey, said its service had been overwhelmed with women and some staff had burned out and left.

"It's extremely underfunded at the moment ... It's an area we asked for more money for [from the Health Funding Authority]; it wasn't in their priority list this year."

The Auckland Maternity Services Consumer Council coordinator, Lynda Williams, said the restriction of services put women, babies and families at risk.

"Where do they go for help? I don't think GPs are in the position to be able to cope with these women with mental health problems. What will they do, see them once a day? Will the women pay for a visit, get counselling? GPs are not offering the services these women need."

A funding authority spokesman, Gerard Vaughan, said it had recently given state health and hospital services in Auckland and Northland an extra $600,000 to provide child, youth and maternal respite care.

The authority was also considering proposals for an Auckland-Northland mother-and-baby service, which would include residential and community services for patients with drug or alcohol problems.

Auckland GP Dr Jonathan Fox said the maternal mental health services were essential and GPs relied on them.