Minister for Mental Health, Matt Doocey says second quarter mental health and addiction target data indicates New Zealanders are seeing real progress in wait times improvements and increased access to timely mental health support.
“It is encouraging to see all three of our wait time targets are improving and two of those targets are already being met at a national level,” Mr Doocey says.
“This includes a 3.1% increase in the overall number of people who are now accessing primary mental health and addiction services within one week. And a 1.5% increase of Kiwis accessing specialist mental health and addiction services within three weeks.”
Minister Doocey said the results reinforce the Government’s commitment to increasing access to timely mental health and addiction support.
“I’m pleased the targets and numbers are going in the right direction overall which results in better access for Kiwis,” he said.
“There is still plenty of work to be done, and I will continue in my efforts to drive change. This is evident at a local level where certain districts and population groups aren’t receiving the same level of access.
“While it’s positive to see an increase in the shorter stays in ED target, today’s results highlight there is a lot more work to do to reach 95 per cent of people admitted, discharged, or transferred from an ED within six hours.
“This data provides a clearer understanding than we’ve ever had before. It provides clarity on the regions that are underperforming and in need of further improvement to bring them up to the national target.”
The Minister confirmed he recently met with Health NZ’s four regional deputy chief executives and tasked them with developing action plans for supporting and improving underperforming services within the regions.
“As New Zealand’s first Minister for Mental Health, I am clear that accountability is vital and that we will continue to take a proactive approach to improving access and providing timely mental health and addiction support when and where it’s needed.”
Factsheets for quarter two results can be found here.
