Mental health access dips despite more funds

By MARTIN JOHNSTON health reporter

Access to treatment for serious mental illnesses has grown slightly worse, despite more Government spending and plans for expansion.

The Mental Health Commission found that in the six months to last June, 1.6 per cent of the population was seen by specialist mental health services.

This was down from the 1.7 per cent seen in the first half of 2002 and the same as the 2001 figure.

Based on British research, it is estimated that 3 per cent of New Zealanders have a severe mental illness. The Government's mental health blueprint assumes this part of the population will need treatment by specialist services in any six-month period.

In the year to last June, Government spending on mental health rose by $47 million, or 6.8 per cent.

Health Minister Annette King is concerned by the slight reduction in access, her spokesman said. "With the amount of money we're putting in," he said, "we don't want to see services declining."

Commission chairwoman Jan Dowland was also concerned about the figures, but said that rather than a reduction, they showed a plateau had been reached.

She attributed this to the bulk of money going into services for the most seriously unwell adults.

She cited the Counties Manukau District Health Board's creation of so-called intensive community teams - teams of two mental health workers carrying a caseload of 20 patients.

This contrasts with a year ago, when a community nurse at the Waitemata health board told the Herald of caring for 50, which she considered a high risk, although ratios were improving.

Ms Dowland said the focus needed to shift a little from the top-end services for adults to include expansion of early intervention and child and adolescent services.

Only 1.1 per cent of people under 20 were seen by a mental health service in the commission's latest reporting period.

This is around the same proportion as all age groups seen by Counties Manukau's mental health services, which receive the lowest state funding per head among major urban areas.

The Auckland-Northland region remains behind the rest of the national averages for funding and access.

A union representative for Counties Manukau's mental health staff, Ashok Shankar, said many problems remained, but the crisis had subsided in South Auckland. "At the moment, things are settled down."