Photo: RNZ / Rebekah Parsons-King
A planned mental health crisis service for Central Otago and Queenstown Lakes has been delayed.
Te Whatu Ora had hoped the crisis support service would be operating before Christmas.
However, Te Whatu Ora executive director of mental health, addictions and intellectual disability for southern Toni Gutschlag said there had been setbacks.
"Despite our best efforts to get the service operational before Christmas unfortunately, like everyone else, we've been hit with sickness and staffing issues which have set us back a few weeks.
"We're committed to getting this support service right for clients, providers and referrers. Implementation is complex and requires development of processes and protocols which takes teamwork and time. We wish all involved a well-earned break over Christmas and, for those who have been sick, a speedy recovery.
"Strong relationships and a joined-up healthcare pathway for crisis intervention support will be key to the success of the service.
"To this end, there's been a lot of work happening in the background. Te Whatu Ora crisis response team and our contracted provider Central Lakes Family Services will be working closely over the next few weeks on integrating their crisis intervention approaches."
Mental health was strained in the area due to the pandemic, with one in five Queenstown Lakes residents rating their mental health as poor or very poor in the most recent quality of life survey.
An update on the launch of the service would be provided next month.
It was unclear when it would launch though, as Te Whatu Ora planned to visit GP clinics across the region in February to provide an update on the service and finalise the next steps before rolling out the system to all GPs.
The second phase of the service's launch would allow GPs to provide referrals.