Dr Richard Grenfell, left, and Sir John Kirwan, whose friendship has lead to the opening of a new private mental health clinic in Auckland. Photo / Michael Craig
Dr Richard Grenfell, left, and Sir John Kirwan, whose friendship has lead to the opening of a new private mental health clinic in Auckland. Photo / Michael Craig
He was a superstar All Black who dazzled on the field, but it was his subsequent work in mental health - after opening up about his own battle with depression - that won hearts.
Now Sir John Kirwan has put his support behind a new private mental health clinic hehoped would ease pressure on the country's stretched public mental health system by providing care to those who could afford to pay.
Re-centre opened in the affluent central Auckland suburb of Parnell this month.
"What we're really hoping is to take some pressure off the public system. I felt that the public system was under incredible pressure … I've talked to [health minister Dr] David Clark about [Re-centre]. He wants everyone who can help in this space to help."
Demand for mental health services had outstripped what was available in recent years, Clark told the Herald.
"As the Wellbeing Budget's mental health package demonstrated, this Government is committed to building up publicly funded services to address this unmet need.
"That said, I welcome privately provided mental health services like Re-centre that will provide additional support to New Zealanders in need."
He and fellow Re-centre board member and executive director Dr Richard Grenfell had been working for four years to open the Acurity Health Group-owned clinic, Sir John said.
Acurity, itself owned by Australia's Evolution Healthcare, runs three private hospitals in New Zealand. Its chief executive is former health minister Jonathan Coleman.
After meeting Grenfell, a former anaesthetist who is also one of Acurity's directors, at a rugby event the pair spoke about Grenfell's hopes to develop a private mental health provider.
Sir John was eventually asked by Acurity to help get Re-centre, which is self-funded, started.
Both wanted to help reduce New Zealand's suicide rate, which rose by 17 in the last year to June 30 to reach 685 - the highest level since records began 12 years ago, Sir John said.
"Stress and anxiety is on the rise and stress and anxiety pushes people towards the edge. Ideally we want to create that early intervention.
"This isn't about a get rich quick scheme, this is about people understanding the massive gap in private mental health service."
Kiwis' attitudes to mental health had improved greatly in recent years, Sir John said.
The big problem they now faced was under pressure treatment resources.
John Kirwan during his playing days for the All Blacks, in 1993. Photo / File
Private healthcare was available for physical health needs, such as hip operations, so there should be no difference for those with mental health needs, he said.
He wanted people to understand mental health was as important as physical health.
"In the journey of your life, as with physical health, you're going to go up and down. With your mental health we just need to change our attitudes to it … [and] part of our pathway to mental health is learning techniques around getting better."
At Re-centre, treatment started with an initial consultation with a psychiatrist followed by a care plan which could include medications, psychotherapy and lifestyle guidance.
Other options available included one on one or shared therapy, e-tools and wellness programmes such as yoga, art therapy and meditation.
Richard Grenfell, left, and Sir John Kirwan are part of a new private mental health clinic, Re-Centre. Photo / Michael Craig
Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation therapy is also offered.
According to the Mayo Clinic, the therapy is a non invasive procedure which uses magnetic fields to stimulate nerve cells in the brain, to improve symptoms of depression. It was typically used when other treatments failed.
In October, University of Auckland researchers called for the use of the therapy to be made more accessible in New Zealand, after a study involving 30 people with drug treatment-resistant clinical depression found nine became symptom-free and six had a partial response.
The New Zealand Psychological Society president "had no particular comment to make on this new private practice", the society's executive director Pamela Hyde said when contacted by the Herald.
"There are already many private practices offering psychological services in Aotearoa."
The long-term plan for Auckland's Re-centre was to eventually open a 30 to 60 bed hospital, Grenfell said.
They also planned to open branches in Hamilton, Wellington, Christchurch and possibly Dunedin in the next year, he said.
WHERE TO GET HELP:
If you are worried about your or someone else's mental health, the best place to get help is your GP or local mental health provider. However, if you or someone else is in danger or endangering others, call police immediately on 111.
