Mental health is shaping up as a key election issue, with Labour mental health spokesperson Ingrid Leary arguing more needs to be done as public concern grows over access to care and pressure on frontline services.
The issue comes into focus following Radio Waatea’s Question of the Day, which asked whether the Government is doing enough when it comes to mental health.
Nearly 1,000 people responded, with more than 90 percent indicating they believed more needed to be done.
While the informal poll is not a scientific measure of national opinion, the overwhelming response highlights the level of concern among Waatea’s audience as political parties begin making their case to voters.
Leary says the election campaign provides an opportunity to put mental health back near the top of the political agenda, particularly around whether people can get help when they need it.
For Māori, the debate carries particular weight.
Mental health services need to work for whānau Māori, including access to kaupapa Māori providers and approaches grounded in whānau, whakapapa, tikanga and community.
The wider challenge stretches from early intervention and primary mental healthcare through to specialist services, addiction treatment and acute care.
Workforce capacity is another critical part of the equation, with psychologists, psychiatrists, counsellors, nurses, peer-support workers and kaupapa Māori providers all playing roles across a system facing sustained demand.
Leary’s challenge as Labour’s spokesperson is to convince voters her party can deliver a mental health system that is easier to access and better able to intervene before people reach crisis point.
The Government, meanwhile, has made mental health one of its health priorities, including establishing a five-year mental health and addiction target to increase access to specialist services.
That leaves voters with an important election-year question about whether the measures already underway are enough, or whether a bigger change in investment, workforce and service delivery is required.
For the hundreds of Waatea listeners who responded to the Question of the Day, the message was overwhelmingly clear.
Mental health cannot be treated as a side issue in this election.
For Leary and every political party seeking votes, the test will be moving beyond promises and showing whānau exactly how they will make getting mental health support faster, easier and more effective.
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