Middlemore Hospital’s emergency department has seen a massive spike in patient numbers this month due to winter respiratory viruses such as the flu, as well as Covid-19. Photo: LDR / Stephen Forbes
Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey has announced the five hospital emergency departments (EDs) that will trial a mental health and addiction peer support service.
The scheme sees peer support specialists in EDs provide mental health support to patients and connect them to community services when they're discharged, regardless of how they ended up in hospital.
Beginning from September, the trial will be roll to the Auckland City, Middlemore, Waikato, Wellington Regional and Christchurch hospitals this year.
Trials will be rolled out to another three EDs next year. This marks a slight change from the initial plan to roll it out to four hospitals each year.
Nelson Hospital already has the service in place and Doocey said its success in supporting people with mental health issues had prompted the wider rollout.
He said he had seen the programme in action there, and it had been "incredibly successful".
"This is a programme that works, and something our Government want to see implemented across New Zealand so that more people can benefit from the services they provide," he said.
"I've become firmly of the view that the ideas to solve the issues we have in mental health are already in the sector but just need the opportunity to be backed."
Doocey first announced the rollout of the scheme in March, at a cost of between $300,000 and $500,000 per hospital, using funding from Health NZ Te Whatu Ora.
At the time he said EDs had become a bottleneck with at least 13,000 people with mental health issues showing up each year seeking crisis support.
The scheme has support from Te Hiringa Mahara, the Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission.