Mental health service providers to sign agreement

Rotorua Hospital. PHOTO/FILE

This year's Mental Health Awareness Week sees the signing of a special relationship agreement between all mental health service providers across the Lakes DHB area.

The relationship agreement is to be signed at the Rotorua Lakes Council Chambers tomorrow afternoon, at the awards ceremony for the week.

Speech and colouring competitions have being organised as part of this year's Mental Health Awareness Week in Rotorua and tomorrow is a celebration of achievement, Lakes DHB said in a media statement.

The portfolio manager for mental health and addictions Marita Ranclaud said the relationship agreement was the culmination of several years of discussions.

"We were having meetings with the providers and we found that one of the issues we were all facing was that we didn't really trust each other. We set out to work as a sector, to change that, and we now have a document that reflects our commitment to maintain our relationship," she said.

The value of trust and viable relationships was crucial in the area of mental health and addictions, she said.

"If you have no relationships with your mental health clients, with members of the client's family, and with other services working in the mental health area, you won't even really be able to get in the door to see your client, so effective relationships are everything in the mental health space."

She said representatives of all mental health and addiction service providers in the Lakes district were expected to attend the signing ceremony, and it would be a big celebration.

The relationship agreement outlines a partnership based on shared values and understanding of the roles, responsibilities and accountabilities of the providers, with the intention to maintain an ethical and productive partnership between them all.