Te Whatu Ora Lakes spent $41.7m on mental health services in one year. Photo / 123rf
Te Whatu Ora Lakes spent $41.7m on mental health services in one year. Photo / 123rf
Annual spending on mental health services in the Lakes health district has risen to more than $40 million but advocates say there is still a “massive gap” between the services available and the needs of the community.
Te Mana Hauora o Te Arawa Trust co-chair Huhana Clayton-Evans said the rising cost of living was contributing to families’ mental health difficulties, which were also a huge strain on support services.
“Our trust is in regular contact with whānau who are stressed and, at times, suicidal,” Clayton-Evans said.
“Most times, whānau have never used mental health services, and [have] found more barriers than support.
“Often the wait time is exorbitant, or meeting the mild-to-acute threshold is a pipe dream.”
Clayton-Evans said Māori should be living in society without living on struggle street, let alone with severe mental distress.
Having said that, Clayton-Evans also said teams like the staff at Piringa Mental were working beyond their means to contribute to addressing the poor state of mental health in the Te Whatu Ora Lakes district.
“We also know the Lakes workforce are in high demand, placing huge strain on practitioners and tohunga.”
Information obtained by the Rotorua Daily Post under the Official Information Act shows that for the 2021/2022 financial year, Health NZ - Te Whatu Ora Lakes — formerly the Lakes District Health Board — spent $41.74 million on mental health services, a $1m increase on the year before.
Of this figure, $22.9m was spent on community services while $18.8m was allocated to hospital services. About half of the costs for hospital mental health services - $14.55m - was spent on salaries, while infrastructure cost hospital services $1.4m.
In the year ending June 2021, the district spent $40.401 million on mental health services. This was $3m more than in the previous financial year.
Mental Health Foundation chief executive Shaun Robinson said there was still “a massive gap” between the scale of the demand for mental health support and the response being provided.
“I haven’t seen an approach that recognises the scale of the issue,” Robinson told the Rotorua Daily Post.
“There are so many people in need, and it is difficult to have an impact on that.”
Robinson described the Government’s approach to mental health service provision as “all very piecemeal”, “haphazard”, and lacking co-ordination.
“The Government needs to take responsibility for fulfilling promises,” Robinson said.
“But all parties need to lift their game. Mental health is going to be an election issue in 2023.”
While Robinson acknowledged there were many services that were “working” to get better mental health outcomes for people in New Zealand, he said these services “did not have much to do with the Government”.
Mental Health Foundation chief executive Shaun Robinson.
A Te Whatu Ora Lakes spokesperson said that anecdotally, the demand for community mental health services had increased in 2022.
The spokesperson also noted an increase in referrals for infant child and adolescent mental health services in the past year.
“There are a number of reasons for this, the Covid-19 pandemic being the most obvious.”
The spokesperson said the Te Whatu Ora Lakes’ spend on mental health services in the last financial year included investment into the new Mauri Ora Inpatient Facility, which would have 16 beds.
Earthworks on the project began in November, with the new building expected to be completed by the end of 2024.
The spokesperson said the district had also channelled funding into six more primary mental health staff, two additional peer worker roles in perinatal mental health and the Te Ao Māramatanga or College of Mental Health Nurses programme.
The spokesperson said goals for the district in 2023 included developing a Regional Clinical Services Plan which looked at how mental health services were provided across the region.
Health Minister Andrew Little has been approached for comment.
University of Otago Department of Public Health senior research Fellow, Dr Ruth Cunningham.
Possible solutions for improving mental health
University of Otago Department of Public Health senior research Fellow, Dr Ruth Cunningham, said despite increased investment in supports, access to specialist services has remained stagnant for the past five years.
“There is no doubt the system and its services are under considerable pressure, and many have questioned whether more of the same is going fix it.”
In a series of blog posts focused on finding public health solutions, Cunningham has written about how mental health services alone won’t solve the mental health crisis.
Cunningham said while mental health and addiction services needed to improve and transform, providing more services did not lessen population levels of mental health need or psychological distress.
“While mental health need is continuing to rise in New Zealand as it is elsewhere, simple policy interventions could reduce this need by both preventing mental ill health and by promoting the mental health of people who are already experiencing mental illness.”
Increasing benefit levels, increasing physical activity, drug and alcohol legislation reform and employment support for those with mental illness were four interventions Cunningham suggested.
“[These interventions] could reduce the demand on services, either by reducing mental health need or by supporting recovery,” Cunningham said.
Safe to talk (sexual harm): Call 0800 044 334 or text 4334
All services are free and available 24/7 unless otherwise specified.
For more information and support, talk to your local doctor, hauora, community mental health team, or counselling service. The Mental Health Foundation has more helplines and service contacts on its website.
