1
00:00:00,200 --> 00:00:03,160
Speaker 1: Cast your mind back to the last government, remember the

2
00:00:03,200 --> 00:00:05,880
Speaker 1: Access and Choice program that was set up in twenty nineteen,

3
00:00:06,240 --> 00:00:08,639
Speaker 1: where the report has now been released on how it's going.

4
00:00:08,680 --> 00:00:11,400
Speaker 1: It's been five years, it's found obviously we've still got

5
00:00:11,400 --> 00:00:12,960
Speaker 1: stuff to work on. It was set up back in

6
00:00:12,960 --> 00:00:15,960
Speaker 1: twenty nineteen as part of the so called well Being budget.

7
00:00:16,239 --> 00:00:19,360
Speaker 1: It was allocated six hundred and sixty four million dollars

8
00:00:19,400 --> 00:00:22,120
Speaker 1: for five years and then two hundred and nine million

9
00:00:22,120 --> 00:00:24,560
Speaker 1: per anim after that. So the Minister for Mental Health

10
00:00:24,640 --> 00:00:26,160
Speaker 1: is now in charge of the whole thing, is Matt

11
00:00:26,160 --> 00:00:28,120
Speaker 1: Doosey and he joins me. Now goodbeing to you, Matt

12
00:00:28,800 --> 00:00:31,840
Speaker 1: only Andrew, can you qualify the differences between now and

13
00:00:31,880 --> 00:00:34,600
Speaker 1: five years ago after the introduction of this program? How

14
00:00:34,720 --> 00:00:36,920
Speaker 1: are we better? You know?

15
00:00:37,000 --> 00:00:38,920
Speaker 2: I think when you look at the data from the

16
00:00:39,000 --> 00:00:42,960
Speaker 2: report released today from the Mental Health Commission, we've seen

17
00:00:43,000 --> 00:00:46,000
Speaker 2: a significant role out of the Access and Choice Program

18
00:00:46,120 --> 00:00:50,640
Speaker 2: within GP practices across the country where there is disappointment.

19
00:00:50,720 --> 00:00:54,520
Speaker 2: Has significantly missed its target. It's only delivered to about

20
00:00:54,560 --> 00:00:58,120
Speaker 2: two thirds of the three hundred and twenty five thousand

21
00:00:58,120 --> 00:01:01,760
Speaker 2: people that the goal was to serve. I've always been

22
00:01:01,800 --> 00:01:03,840
Speaker 2: of the view that part of the issue we've seen

23
00:01:03,880 --> 00:01:07,440
Speaker 2: in mental health is we've always talked lofty goals, but

24
00:01:07,520 --> 00:01:11,480
Speaker 2: we've done very poorly an implementation, and that's why this

25
00:01:11,560 --> 00:01:14,760
Speaker 2: government was keen to have its first mental health minister.

26
00:01:15,120 --> 00:01:17,800
Speaker 2: So we're focused on ensuring that that service has rolled

27
00:01:17,800 --> 00:01:20,200
Speaker 2: out properly and according to its target.

28
00:01:20,240 --> 00:01:21,959
Speaker 1: Well, we'll just look at that. So the goal was

29
00:01:21,959 --> 00:01:25,200
Speaker 1: to have psychological health services available to seventy percent of

30
00:01:25,240 --> 00:01:28,199
Speaker 1: those enrolled with general practices, So you hit sixty eight percent.

31
00:01:28,600 --> 00:01:31,400
Speaker 1: So the services are pretty much there according to the targets.

32
00:01:31,760 --> 00:01:33,440
Speaker 1: But you hope to hit a goal of three hundred

33
00:01:33,440 --> 00:01:35,720
Speaker 1: and twenty five thousand people getting the services a year.

34
00:01:36,120 --> 00:01:38,320
Speaker 1: You hit two hundred and seven thousand, which is why

35
00:01:38,360 --> 00:01:41,200
Speaker 1: you say two thirds. So where's the problem? Education and

36
00:01:41,240 --> 00:01:43,959
Speaker 1: people not realizing that the services are there to be used.

37
00:01:45,120 --> 00:01:47,319
Speaker 2: I think that it's partly true, Andrew. When you look

38
00:01:47,319 --> 00:01:51,760
Speaker 2: at the annual Health Survey people reporting mental health needs,

39
00:01:52,120 --> 00:01:54,560
Speaker 2: a third of them are reporting that they didn't know

40
00:01:54,600 --> 00:01:57,560
Speaker 2: where to go. But I think there's another thing happening here.

41
00:01:57,600 --> 00:02:02,840
Speaker 2: It's an utilization of the access and choice workforce. In opposition,

42
00:02:03,160 --> 00:02:06,920
Speaker 2: I was supportive of the model, but also critical it

43
00:02:06,920 --> 00:02:10,320
Speaker 2: does have an achilles heel where the warm handover and

44
00:02:10,360 --> 00:02:14,239
Speaker 2: the GP practice is a good model for ensuring someone

45
00:02:14,280 --> 00:02:17,639
Speaker 2: gets that timely support, but it does mean at times

46
00:02:17,840 --> 00:02:22,360
Speaker 2: and some practices that workforce is sitting there underutilized. So look,

47
00:02:22,720 --> 00:02:25,280
Speaker 2: I'll welcome the report from the Mental Health Commission. I

48
00:02:25,320 --> 00:02:27,440
Speaker 2: talked with him when I first came in that we

49
00:02:27,600 --> 00:02:31,080
Speaker 2: needed to do the five year review. Looking forward, I

50
00:02:31,120 --> 00:02:34,280
Speaker 2: think part of the solution is going to be digitizing

51
00:02:34,320 --> 00:02:38,160
Speaker 2: the Access and Choice program, shifting it online so that'll

52
00:02:38,200 --> 00:02:41,679
Speaker 2: able the staff to have high utilization rates and see

53
00:02:41,720 --> 00:02:42,200
Speaker 2: more people.

54
00:02:42,280 --> 00:02:43,600
Speaker 1: And it may have something to do with the fact

55
00:02:43,600 --> 00:02:45,320
Speaker 1: that the GPS are so wildly overworked.

56
00:02:46,840 --> 00:02:50,000
Speaker 2: Well, this is a SEP service, it's actually funded directly

57
00:02:50,200 --> 00:02:51,359
Speaker 2: from the government, Noble.

58
00:02:51,400 --> 00:02:53,200
Speaker 1: It go through the GPS. They then have to refer

59
00:02:53,280 --> 00:02:55,760
Speaker 1: they've got a fifteen minute window. But there we go. Look, hey, what.

60
00:02:55,919 --> 00:02:58,760
Speaker 2: No, that's not necessarily true, Andrew, and that actually came

61
00:02:58,800 --> 00:03:02,240
Speaker 2: out in the report. What the core calling this variation

62
00:03:02,560 --> 00:03:06,079
Speaker 2: in the service and the pathways, So people don't actually

63
00:03:06,200 --> 00:03:08,880
Speaker 2: need to see the GP to be referred to the service.

64
00:03:09,280 --> 00:03:12,840
Speaker 2: That is happening in some services. So addressing the variation

65
00:03:13,000 --> 00:03:15,560
Speaker 2: people can be seen straight by the service without going

66
00:03:15,560 --> 00:03:16,440
Speaker 2: through the GP.

67
00:03:16,400 --> 00:03:18,720
Speaker 1: And that's good and that's good, and that requires education

68
00:03:18,880 --> 00:03:20,720
Speaker 1: and those people who are suffering need to know that

69
00:03:20,800 --> 00:03:23,480
Speaker 1: it's there. But of course that's suffering. Hey, so what's next?

70
00:03:23,560 --> 00:03:25,560
Speaker 1: You know, the first rune of funding the six hundred

71
00:03:25,560 --> 00:03:28,240
Speaker 1: and sixty four million dollars fully committed, fully spent. Then

72
00:03:28,280 --> 00:03:29,799
Speaker 1: they said there was going to be two hundred and

73
00:03:30,080 --> 00:03:32,120
Speaker 1: nine million dollars a year available going forward.

74
00:03:32,400 --> 00:03:36,200
Speaker 2: Is that still available, Yes, that funding is still available.

75
00:03:36,240 --> 00:03:39,160
Speaker 2: It's part of the Protected Ring Fence for Mental health

76
00:03:39,160 --> 00:03:43,080
Speaker 2: and addiction. Funding this year will spend two point six billion.

77
00:03:43,440 --> 00:03:45,600
Speaker 2: So what I want to see is that program rolled

78
00:03:45,640 --> 00:03:48,360
Speaker 2: out further. We want to hit its target of seeing

79
00:03:48,400 --> 00:03:51,240
Speaker 2: three hundred and twenty five thousand people. Not only that,

80
00:03:51,720 --> 00:03:54,520
Speaker 2: One of my first targets I've set five targets for

81
00:03:54,640 --> 00:03:57,280
Speaker 2: mental health, first time in New Zealand would have mental

82
00:03:57,280 --> 00:04:00,240
Speaker 2: health targets is for people to be seen within one

83
00:04:00,280 --> 00:04:03,240
Speaker 2: week of the service. So I want more people to

84
00:04:03,280 --> 00:04:04,600
Speaker 2: be seen and seen quicker.

85
00:04:05,480 --> 00:04:06,920
Speaker 1: Matt, good luck and I thank you so much for

86
00:04:06,960 --> 00:04:09,400
Speaker 1: your time today. Matt Doocy, who is the Minister for

87
00:04:09,560 --> 00:04:10,200
Speaker 1: Mental Health.

88
00:04:10,960 --> 00:04:13,960
Speaker 2: For more from early edition with Ryan Bridge listen live

89
00:04:14,080 --> 00:04:17,080
Speaker 2: to News Talks at B from five am weekdays, or

90
00:04:17,160 --> 00:04:19,000
Speaker 2: follow the podcast on iHeartRadio