January 23, 2018
Equity focus for mental health review
Psychiatrist and Maori health trailblazer Sir Mason Durie has been named to the ministerial inquiry looking at mental health and addiction.
The Inquiry will be chaired by former health and disability commissioner Professor Ron Paterson, and will report back to the Government by the end of October.
Other members include former Mental Health Foundation director Dr Barbara Disley, Dean Rangihuna, who works as a forensic Maori consumer advisor for the Canterbury DHB, Pasifika mental health and suicide prevention expert Dr Jemaima Tiatia-Seath, and youth development expert Josiah Tualamali’i.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says demand has grown rapidly in recent years, with more than 170,000 people using mental health and addiction services in 2016-17, up 71 per cent on a decade earlier.
Addiction services were added to the review based on feedback during consultation, as mental health and addiction are often interlinked.
The inquiry has broad terms of reference and a particular focus on equity of access to quality services and better outcomes, especially for Maori and other groups that have the poorest outcomes.
Ms Ardern says the Government is looking for fresh thinking, and nothing is off the table.
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