In 2007, NMDHB established a Mental Health Programme Board whose role was to focus on a framework to improve population mental health outcomes, improve general society understanding of mental illness and reduce the incidence and impact on those people with mental illness across the range of severity and function.  

As part of the developmental work of the Programme Board, a number of reports and plans were written which culminated in NMDHB Board approving the Mental Health and Addiction Action Plan 2008-2015 in December 2008. All of the reports and plans link directly with ‘Te Tahuhu Improving Mental Health 2005-2015, The Second New Zealand Mental Health and Addiction Plan’ its companion document ‘Te Kokiri – The Mental Health and Addiction Action Plan 2006-2015’, ‘Te Puawaiwhero – The Second Maori Mental Health and Addiction National Strategic Framework 2008-2015, and NMDHB conceptual framework for achieving ‘Towards Health Conscious Families’.

The following table outlines the estimated number of people with mild to serious mental health issues across the Nelson Marlborough population (using 2006 Census figures) based on Te Rau Hinengaro - The New Zealand Mental Health Survey estimates.

 

The table identifies that just fewer than 27,000 people over a twelve month period would need support for their mental wellbeing.     

Other key findings from Te Rau Hinengaro included:

(i) Prevalence of disorders are; serious (4.7%), moderate (9.4%), mild (6.6%).    

 

(ii) Anxiety disorders were the most common group of disorders in the past 12 months (15%) followed by mood disorders (8%), substance abuse (3.5%) and eating disorders were rate at (0.5%)

(iii) All disorders were most common in 16-24 year olds and declined with age. This is particularly true for substance disorders.

(iv) Anxiety and depression were more common in women and substance abuse more common in men (double the rate of women).

(v) People with mental health disorders are more likely to be physically unwell, and vice versa.

(vi) There is a significant unmet need for people with mental disorders. Of all the 12 month cases of mental disorder only 39% had visited health services in the past 12 months for mental health reasons.

(vii) Younger people were less likely that any other age groups to have had a health visit for a mental health reason.

(viii) People with mental disorders had higher prevalence’s of chronic conditions.

(ix) It is common for people to have had two mental disorders in the previous 12 months.

(x) Maori and Pacific people had higher prevalence of disorder and serious disorder in the past 12 months than the general population.

(xi) Thinking about suicide is common (15%) though planning (5.5%) and attempting (4.5%) were lower.   Individuals with mental disorders were at higher risk of suicide, particularly people with depressive or mood disorders. The risk of suicidal behaviour varied with ethnicity, with Maori and Pacific people reporting higher rates than the ‘Other’ population group.

(xii) Prevalence of mental disorders are higher for people who are disadvantaged, whether measured by educational qualification, equivalised income or using the New Zealand deprivation index.

For more information on Mental Health and Addiction planning documents, please refer to the documents by clicking on the link below.

Mental health promotion is defined as the process of enabling people to gain control over and improve their mental health and wellbeing. Mental health and wellbeing is more than the absence of mental illness. The New Zealand mental health promotion strategy, ‘Building on Strengths: A Guide for Action 2002’, defines mental health promotion as:

“the process of enhancing the capacity of individuals and communities to take control of their lives and
improve their mental health. Mental health promotion uses strategies that foster supportive environments
and individual resilience, while showing respect for culture, equity, social justice and personal dignity” 

 

The Ministry of Health organises its funding of population based mental health services around three core service areas; mental health promotion, suicide prevention and reducing stigma and discrimination. Accordingly a number of public health programmes have been initiated to support that objective.

For more information on Mental Health Promotion documents, please refer to the documents by clicking on the link below.

General practice teams as a first point of contact for health services already deliver the largest share of mental health treatment in New Zealand. At its most basic level, any individual accessing a primary health care service with concerns around their mental health, should be able to have their mental health needs identified and assessed and be offered effective treatments, including referral to specialist services for further assessment, treatment and care if needed. Te Rau Hinengaro is the most recent national study of mental illness prevalence and identifies that 16% of the general population have mild to moderate mental health needs. This equates to an estimated 20,000 people living within Nelson Marlborough service coverage area.

Nelson Bays PHO and Kimi Hauora Wairau PHO, in partnership with NMDHB, have developed new primary mental health services which include extended General Practice consultations, packages of care, and brief intervention clinical teams.

To find out more about the location of general practice teams and their fees, link onto the two Primary Health Organisations websites:

~ Nelson Bays PHO www.bewell.org.nz

These services are designed to meet the 3% of the population who are most severely affected by mental illness.    Mental health and addiction services are to be provided to:

~ “eligible people with an identifiable or suspected psychiatric disorder (as defined by DSM IV or other generally recognised diagnostic classifications), including drug and alcohol problems which has a significant impact on that person’s ability to function or which is at risk of doing so”

~ “eligible people seeking information about mental illness, its treatment and prevention, support of people with mental illness, or recognition of mental health problems and what to do about them”

A full range of services are listed in ‘When I need Care > Mental Health’.

Best practices can be defined on the basis of scientific evidence and/or expert consensus; some combination of these methods are usually employed. In 2007, NMDHB engaged Health Technology Assessment (from the Department of Public Health and General Practice Christchurch School of Medicine and Health Sciences) to identify best practice interventions for the top five mental illnesses experienced by our population. The Annotated Information Packages are included in this section, along with the ‘Identification of Common Mental Disorders and Management of Depression in Primary Care’ developed by the New Zealand Guidelines Group.

Te Roopu Tupu Tahi is the mental health advisory forum to Nelson Marlborough District Health Board. Te Roopu Tupu Tahi has two primary aims:

 

~ To foster collaboration among mental health service providers in the Nelson Marlborough district for the benefit of consumers/tangata whaiora and their families/whanau. 

~ To provide advice and expertise on mental health issues to the Nelson Marlborough District Health Board as a consultative body for the development of the Mental Health Strategic Plan.

Te Roopu Tupu Tahi meets on a six weekly basis and reports to the Community Public Health and Advisory Committee. If you wish to make contact with Te Roopu Tupu Tahi, please contact Gaylene.Corlett@nmdhb.govt.nz or Lorraine.Eade@nmdhb.govt.nz  

NMDHB mental health workforce(s) are pivotal to the provision of essential quality based mental health promotion, primary mental health, community and specialist mental health services.  

Nelson Marlborough is a wonderful place to live from the beautiful Marlborough Sounds, through to inspiring National Parks, the most creative arts and crafts, spectacular wine and food, and a safe community to raise families.

If you are interested in moving to Nelson Marlborough, please regularly check out our job vacancies. We’d love to see you here.

There are a number of websites that focus on mental health workforce development. Please go to www.matatini.co.nz to view further information on Maori workforce development, and www.tepou.co.nz to view information on New Zealand’s National Centre of Mental Health Research, Information and Workforce Development initiatives.