Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey and Prime Minister Christopher Luxon at Middlemore Hospital in Auckland to deliver an announcement on mental health policy. Photo / Dean Purcell
When it comes to mental health support in New Zealand, our first Mental Health Minister knows help isn’t there at the moment.
Matt Doocey is also under no illusion that the work ahead of him isn’t an uphill battle, saying: “Giving someone a job doesn’t make a difference.”
He told The Front Page it is about what he chooses to do with this role and he will be held to account over the next few years.
To do this, the Government announced five mental health and addiction targets including faster access to specialist services, shorter mental health and addiction-related stays in emergency departments, increased workforce development and a strengthened focus on prevention and early intervention.
Doocey said at first, they would assess progress quarterly but he’s open to releasing monthly reports if it shows that will further performance and accountability.
“When you look at the target of 80% of people being seen within three weeks for specialist services, from the data we capture at the moment, which is not complete, we might be sitting around 75%.
“But when you look at young people, we’re probably sitting closer to around 66%,” he said.
Staff vacancy rates in the sector have doubled since 2018, something Doocey wants to look at.
“If you look at something like clinical psychology, the advice I’ve got is we need around 200 to 250 more clinical psychologists a year, but currently our pipeline only trains 50.
“When you dig into the data, about 400 people graduate with undergraduate psychology degrees every year in New Zealand, but when they miss out on one of those 50 internship placements they disappear from the sector.”
Doocey is looking abroad for solutions, like a new registration of an associate psychology role based on a UK model, where someone enters the workforce at an associate level.
“It gives them the ability to train in their role to then maybe go on to be a clinical psychologist. What we want to do is make sure that we open up the existing pipelines of training we have in New Zealand.”
There is a growing number of teens and children waiting weeks, if not months, for the help that they need and Doocey said it is not good enough.
“I think what’s happening now is more people are choosing to be more open and be more trusting and ask for help. Sadly, that support is not there,” Doocey said.
“We’re focused on producing New Zealand’s first independent and standalone mental health and workforce plan that will be focused on driving down vacancy rates in Health New Zealand.”
Doocey hoped the plan would be made public in the next month.
When it comes to making sure the sector is future-proofed, Doocey said he is prepared to work across Parliament on bipartisan deals to make sure these plans survive subsequent changes in the Beehive.
“I’m a consensus politician. I look to work in ways that are enduring change. If that requires me to compromise or concede at times, I’m prepared to do that because I want to ensure we do have long-term changes to address the mental health issues in this country.
“I’ve already met with the cross-party mental health group to add my support to what they are doing as the new minister. I’m committed to working with them and whoever else wants to work collaboratively in mental health within Parliament, because that’s where I think the change will happen.”
Listen to the full episode to hear more about how our Mental Health Minister wants to transform the sector, and why the Government is throwing millions at Gumboot Friday.
The Front Page is a daily news podcast from the New Zealand Herald, available to listen to every weekday from 5am. The podcast is presented by Chelsea Daniels, an Auckland-based journalist with a background in world news and crime/justice reporting who joined NZME in 2016.
You can follow the podcast at iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Nurse warns Hawke’s Bay Hospital is “holding on by the skin of our teeth” due to staffing.