The number of children waiting for mental health support has more than tripled in Tauranga, despite a steady number of referrals over the past five years.
It comes as the Bay of Plenty is seeing a “higher-than-national-average rate” of young people accessing mental health support, while the hospital’s service is struggling to employ clinicians as “demand outweighs supply”.
Data released from Te Whatu Ora - Health New Zealand under the Official Information Act shows at the end of last year, 86 young people were waiting for face-to-face appointments through the Tauranga Maternal, Infant, Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service.
Last year, 1195 young people were referred to the service and waited an average of 38 days to be seen.
The longest time between a patient referral and that patient being seen face-to-face was 288 days, and the shortest was zero days.
In 2016, 1181 patients were referred with 24 waiting for appointments by the end of the year.
Te Whatu Ora said there were 11 psychologists and five psychiatrists working for the service. Not all positions were full-time.
There were two vacant positions for psychologists which had been open for less than three months.
Te Whatu Ora in Hauora a Toi Bay of Plenty child wellbeing programme director, Anja Theron, said there was an “increase in complexity and acuity of presentations”, with more specialist interventions required for young people.
The service was experiencing more referrals for young people with possible neurodiversities, eating disorders and anxiety, she said.
Theron said social media and cyberbullying were also contributing to this figure.
“Demand in the Bay of Plenty remains high, with [a] higher-than-national-average rate for children and young people accessing mental health support.”
Staff in the teams did their best to support the community with the resources they had, she said.
Theron said recruitment of skilled staff was challenging as “demand outweighs supply”.
The new Child Health Integrated Response Pathways triage model had shown “encouraging” results in reducing wait times for children needing assessment.
It took a multi-disciplinary approach at triage time “to link tamariki and whānau with the most appropriate diagnostic specialists from the outset”, she said.
Bay of Plenty child and adolescent psychotherapist Joanne Bruce said she did not work for the service, but knew staff tried to prioritise cases due to the “enormous pressure they are under, with limited resources”.
Bruce said she had seen families “stretch their budget” to seek private treatment.
“What is happening in their family may be very distressing for their child and for them, but not considered a serious mental health issue from a mental health service.”
Gate Pā School leader of learning support Jodi Hill said there was a “real increase in urgency” to help children with trauma and anxiety in the community.
Some students were starting school without “foundation skills for learning” and struggling with emotional regulation, Hill said.
”As teachers, we are not equipped to deal with that. We are trying to upskill, but we don’t have the skills we need to meet children where they are at.”There are a lot of kids who, for no wrongdoing of their own, just haven’t had the experiences that help get them ready for school.”
Earlier this month, Hill told the Bay of Plenty Times teachers acted as “social workers, counsellors, and psychologists”.
Hill, who also led a team of junior teachers, was not surprised the number of children waiting for appointments had “crept up” in recent years however, she praised clinicians who were “working their butts off” to meet the demand.
”It’s vital - these children deserve their best life. To do that, you need professionals who have the capacity and knowledge to be able to support them. We are so thankful for the job that they do, because we can’t do it,” she said.
The Child Health Integrated Response Pathways triage model had helped reduce wait times for children needing various kinds of support, she said.
Mount Maunganui Intermediate principal Melissa Nelson said many students had accessed support from the service, describing it as “most appropriate” for those with moderate to severe mental health needs.
Nelson said the data aligned with what they were hearing from other services reporting increased referrals were resulting in longer wait times.
In August, the school fundraised $83,000 to employ another counsellor for two years.
Staff were “regularly in contact with many services to assess their ability to take on new cases”, she said.
While wait times for the hospital service were concerning, she understood there was “limited personnel” and more youth requiring specialist help.
“It is one of many services that is under-resourced and having to enforce more specific criteria [regarding] moderate to severe mental health concerns.”
The school accessed support from various services, so was not dependent on one for “all mental health support”, she said.
Pyes Pā school deputy principal Emma Rānui said access to “immediate, appropriate and effective” mental health services was “critical for young people today”.
“Without this support, mental health needs will only escalate and affect all aspects of their lives, and their whānau, and impact on their attendance, education, and hauora,” Rānui said.
Cindy Mokomoko is the managing director of Western Bay mental health service Te Puna Hauora ki Uta ki Tai.
Mokomoko said while the clinic had a kaupapa Māori focus, it supported anyone who was referred.
A team of social workers, nurses and counsellors worked with young people and adults presenting mild to moderate mental health and addiction needs.
Right now, the longest a child or adolescent would have to wait for an appointment was two weeks, she said.
They would then be seen fortnightly, weekly or multiple times a week, depending on their level of need.
Mokomoko could not comment on the data, but she said staff liaised with the hospital service when young people needed help from a psychiatrist or psychologist.
“When that happens, we will accompany the family or young person. We work together on the case - not at the same time - but there is collaboration.”
Mokomoko said staff at their service worked towards positive outcomes for whānau, rather than looking at children’s mental health challenges as a separate matter.
“You are not just looking at an isolated problem, you are helping the family toward whānau wellbeing.”
The woman was shaken by the incident.