New mental health funding may not match need

Child psychiatrist and paediatrician Dr Hiran Thabrew.

Photo: RNZ / Cole Eastham-Farrelly

Any investment in mental health is welcome, say psychiatrists - but they're concerned the government's $100m worth of solutions is unlikely to fix current problems and may create new ones.

The industry body for psychiatrists says the government's $100 million for mental health is piecemeal and reactive, and it won't fix the sector's systemic problems.

Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey has broken down where the money, included in the 2026 budget under vote health, is going.

It will be spent on new mothers, more inpatient beds and new psychology assistants, and there's some money for mental health groups working in communities.

The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists, while welcoming the boost, questions if this funding matches the need - a question that can't be answered comprehensively without information we don't have. There's also no comprehensive plan for mental health services overall.

Dr Hiran Thabrew, the chair of Tū Te Akaaka Roa, which is the New Zealand office of the Royal College, says lack of information is one of the sector's big problems.

The last adult mental health and addiction prevalence study was done more than 20 years ago, and a child and adolescent study commissioned by this government hasn't yet been completed.

Thabrew says we need to take that information, look at the services we have available and redesign the system to meet that need - and then look at the workforce needed to fill those services and train enough people to serve those roles.

"What seems to be happening is [that] things are happening in reverse, with bits and pieces being added to the workforce, the system redesign kind of not really being looked at and big gaps in prevalence data. If we keep avoiding this essential work, we'll just end up paying more for less effective care."

He says the system surrounding how decisions are being made appears piecemeal.

"These decisions are being made somewhat reactively and in response to lobbying, rather than in a transparent, planned and equitable manner.

"It's not always about needing more, but about making sure the money goes to the right places and that they're delivering what is needed."

The funding boost includes $20.18m for maternal mental health support, including peer support workers, $28.45m to train 150 new psychology assistants over four years and $51.72m for 20 new inpatient beds. There will also be a $1m annual fund that community groups outside the government could use to help support their people.

Thabrew says the college is unclear about how the NGO fund differs from or builds on the existing mental health and addiction community sector innovation fund, or how it mitigates losses from previous cuts.

He says it's great there will be increased peer support for maternal mental health services.

"Maternal mental health resources have been chronically under-resourced," he says.

"It's been difficult, particularly for women who've been experiencing more serious or complex needs, to access specialist care, and for a very small number to access in-patient treatment through mother and baby sessions, where they don't lose contact with their child.

"For those groups with greater need, that peer support funding will not replace what they do need. A different kind of funding is needed for specialist mental health clinicians, who are trained in supporting them with talking therapies and medication."

Thabrew says the three nights of hospital care about to be introduced for women who've just given birth is useful for several reasons, including post-natal stress, and helping breast feeding and bonding, but won't help to address serious mental health issues, as they arrive in the days to weeks after birth.

He says there's another problem with these big spending announcements - if the workforce isn't big enough to deliver the newly funded services, staff the beds and train the new workers, sometimes that money remains unspent.

"That matters, because we know from recent polling that health is the No.1 priority for voters, when it comes to government investment.

"There's clear expectation from the public that this is an area where sustained and meaningful action is needed. From our perspective, it means we do have to move beyond these short-term or piecemeal kind of measures or funding, towards consistent, long-term planning to build and support the mental health system."

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