The Government's announced five targets to deliver on better mental health outcomes for Kiwis.
It comes as the first round of the Government's $10 million Mental Health and Addiction Community Sector Innovation Fund is set to open for applications later this month.
Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey, alongside PM Christopher Luxon, made the announcement at Auckland's Middlemore Hospital on Thursday.
Doocey said he was "determined to deliver results that make a difference" for Kiwis and that means setting targets that hold not only the Government but himself, as New Zealand's first Mental Health Minister, to account.
The five targets for mental health are:
- Faster access to specialist mental health and addiction services: target of 80 percent of people accessing specialist mental health and addiction services are seen within three weeks
- Faster access to primary mental health and addiction services: target of 80 percent of people accessing primary mental health and addiction services through the Access and Choice programme are seen within one week
- Shorter mental health and addiction-related stays in emergency departments: target of 95 percent of mental health and addiction-related emergency department presentations are admitted, discharged, or transferred from an emergency department within six hours
- Increased mental health and addiction workforce development: target of training 500 mental health and addiction professionals each year
- Strengthened focus on prevention and early intervention: target of 25 percent of mental health and addiction investment is allocated towards prevention and early intervention
However, Labour's mental health spokesperson Ingrid Leary has criticised the Government's targets as being "light on detail".
"Today, Minister for Mental Health Matt Doocey has announced substantial targets, but his announcement is predictably light on the details of how the targets will be reached," she said.
"Workforce resource will greatly hinder delivery, particularly when Health New Zealand has a hiring freeze and local GPs face a shortage of both funding and workforce numbers.
"Promising 500 new mental health workers a year but failing to fund the 50 additional places for doctors to train at university as promised throughout the campaign period shows National doesn't keep their word when it comes to health.
"It's one thing to make these promises about mental health, but we need to make sure that they are delivered on."
Doocey admitted the "Government does not have all the solutions when it comes to addressing mental health issues".
However, he added Mental Health and Addiction Community Sector Innovation Fund was designed to support new and innovative initiatives focused on increasing access to better mental health support.
"That's why we have previously announced funding for Gumboot Friday of $24 million over four years to provide young people aged between 5 and 25 years with free mental health counselling services.
"I'm firmly of the view that the answers to the issues we have in mental health are already in the sector but just need the opportunity to be backed. I've listened to the innovative ideas and the people behind those ideas and this has resulted in the development of this Fund."
Doocey said the fund would support the Government's priority focus on increasing access to mental health and addiction support, growing the mental health and addiction workforce, strengthening the focus on prevention and early intervention, and improving the effectiveness of mental health and addiction support.
Submission criteria for the fund - which will be open to all NGOs and community mental health and addiction providers, including iwi-based and other Kaupapa Māori providers - will be published on the Government Electronic Tender Service (GETS) website by the end of July, with contracts for round one expected to be in place later this year.
Depending on the amount of funding allocated through the initial round in July, a second funding round may be announced later this year.
