Of the 31 social workers, occupational therapists, counsellors and advisers spoken with, none gave a positive rating and just two were neutral. The rest were "negative" or "very negative".
"Most of what we found added clarity, context and greater understanding of themes of concern that some of you have been expressing over time," according to report summary shown to staff in May.
An "immense workload" led staff to say "sometimes it feels like we're drowning", the accommodation was "awful", staff felt unsafe and "nobody seems interested", while the workplace culture was described as "low-trust, punitive".
Consistent themes were the "significant amount of stress and distress", the need to rebuild trust and confidence in the leadership team, and a strong desire to change the culture.
The report also listed "psychiatrist resources" and "complex HR issues" on a slide in the presentation titled "What we've been doing".
"We're making an immovable commitment to improve safety, culture and wellbeing," was one of the key messages to staff, who were thanked for their commitment, expertise and desire to improve.
The leadership team was also rearranged and the report said one of the next steps was to seek Expressions of Interest for those interested in being the "Interim Clinical Director".
The current Clinical Director, Dr Sue Mackersey, did not respond to email or voice messages from the Bay of Plenty Times.
The BOP DHB declined to release the full report, written by Rap Consulting, which was sought under the Official Information Act.
This refusal has been appealed to the Office of the Ombudsmen and the DHB, after being asked to reconsider by the Bay of Plenty Times, did release a slideshow summary of the report shared with staff.
"We would be happy to clarify any areas in the presentation as required as we are providing this in good faith and with the expectation that it is not misrepresented," wrote Debbie Brown, quality and safety manager for the DHB.
When the Bay of Plenty Times asked questions to clarify certain aspects of the summary report, Brown said these would be treated as another request under the Official Information Act.
Government agencies, like the DHB, have up to 20 working days to respond to requests under the OIA.
"Mental Health & Addictions Services teams have been under significant pressure due to the growing volume and complexity of the work demands on them, along with having to work in suboptimal accommodation and enduring difficulties in recruiting expert staff," Brown said in a statement with the summary report.
"In addition, there is a high level of risk of harm to staff who work in our inpatient and community teams from assault by unwell clients and a high degree of public criticism of the Mental Health system.
"All of these factors have contributed to high levels of stress within the services and the Executive Team wanted to give staff a safe place to share their concerns, perspectives and opportunities for the future.
"With this information, we expected to progress a series of improvements to improve the wellbeing of our workforce, so that in turn they are best equipped to serve the needs of our clients."
While there is also a national review into mental health services, led by former Health and Disability Commissioner Ron Paterson, Brown said the DHB was taking a "fresh focus on our current services" in the Bay of Plenty.
"It matters to us that staff feel valued, listened to and taken care of – these were some of the issues of expressed concern from staff that prompted the [report]
"A few months on we have a new sense of energy, positivity and opportunity within the teams and are excited about what the future holds for the services."
The report was commissioned in October just two months after the Bay of Plenty Times published leaked emails and a letter raising concerns about staff being attacked by patients high on P or synthetic cannabis.
Comments from mental health and addictions staff
• The workload is immense and sometimes it feels like we're drowning.
• Some of our accommodation is awful.
• We feel unsafe at times and nobody seems interested.
• We have a low trust, punitive workplace culture.
• We need a safe place to have a voice and be heard.
• We want to help make things better.
