Mental healthcare for older people in the South is \u2018\u2018dangerously under-resourced\u2019\u2019 at a time when demand is at its highest, a senior clinician says.<\/p>\n
Dr Yoram Barak, of the Dunedin School of Medicine, said when it came to old age psychiatrists there was 1.1 full-time equivalent (FTE) for the department in Dunedin, and virtually no FTEs at all in Invercargill.<\/p>\n
According to data provided by the doctor\u2019s union, it was funded for almost 3 FTES.<\/p>\n
\u2018\u2018To say it\u2019s not ideal is the understatement of the year,\u2019\u2019 he said.<\/p>\n
\u2018\u2018There has not been an old age psychiatrist in Invercargill for the past ten years.<\/p>\n
\u2018\u2018Over the last six years or so, a locum doctor, old age psychiatrist from Christchurch would come to Invercargill once every two weeks for two days.<\/p>\n
\u2018\u2018He has stopped that now. And there is now an advanced trainee old age psychiatrist who is going to go to support Invercargill psychiatric mental health services.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n
Documents provided by the Association for Salaried Medical Specialties (ASMS) showed most departments in the South are understaffed by more than 21%, and for mental health for older people, the problem is even worse, requiring an extra 1.5 FTES.<\/p>\n
Dr Barak said the lack of staff was compromising his and others\u2019 work.<\/p>\n
\u2018\u2018The Southern Division is not being competitive with other divisions on the employment of old age psychiatrists. So people are very unhappy practising here.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n
It was particularly difficult given the Southern districts had some of the fastest-ageing populations, and \u2018\u2018two things\u2019\u2019 needed to be done at the same time.<\/p>\n
\u2018\u2018We must begin with changing the attitudes and educating the future workforce on old persons\u2019 health and particularly older adult psychiatry or old age psychiatry, [which] needs a significant change in the curriculum of the medical schools.<\/p>\n
\u2018\u2018At the here and now kind of level, we need the government to instruct the Ministry of Health and Health New Zealand [HNZ] to encourage true financial benefits and other benefits for psychiatrists to take on advanced training in old age psychiatry, and to more equally have a distribution of the [meagre] resources that we have around the country.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n
They were \u2018\u2018dangerously understaffed\u2019\u2019 at a time when demand for mental health services for older people was at its highest, he said.<\/p>\n
HNZ moving into a districts-need model had not also been a smooth transition, he said.<\/p>\n
\u2018\u2018… when we, because of the very, very extremely limited resources, wish to \u2014 for example \u2014 refer a patient to Christchurch, to Burwood Hospital, we are told \u2018no, no, no, that’s outside of the Southern Division, you can’t do that\u2019.<\/p>\n
\u2018\u2018So if we have an unbearable list of people waiting, for example, on ECT, which is an acute lifesaving procedure, we can’t have some of these patients go to Christchurch to receive [it], although we are supposed to be one big happy family.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n
HNZ Southern director of operations Craig Ashton said he acknowledged the poor size of the mental health for older persons department.<\/p>\n
\u2018\u2018Health New Zealand recognises the need to grow the psychiatry workforce both in Southern District and nationally to make it sustainable both now and into the future.<\/p>\n
\u2018\u2018Mental health for older person services are part of the wider aged-care continuum of care and we recognise the service in Southern is operating under significant pressure.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n
Mr Ashton said there was significant work under way to increase the mental health and addictions workforce.<\/p>\n
\u2018\u2018In 2025, 74 clinical psychology interns were funded, exceeding the original target of 60. Additionally, 48 junior doctors entered Stage 1 of their psychiatry training last year, an increase from 33 in 2023.<\/p>\n
\u2018\u2018The national workforce team are actively working with the sector on initiatives to grow the psychiatry workforce and has funded three additional RMO training positions in Otago.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n