A University of Otago health academic has criticised the Mental Health Minister\u2019s shift towards “peer-led” support to address the looming crisis.<\/p>\n
It comes after the\u00a0Otago Daily Times\u00a0revealed Health New Zealand Te Whatu Ora was seeking tender applications to run a “peer-led” service that would host at least six acute beds in either Queenstown, Cromwell or Invercargill by the end of the year.<\/p>\n
Peer-governed means that at least 50% of the governance members of an organisation (trustees, board members) have personal “lived” experience of mental distress and\/or addiction.<\/p>\n
Mental health scholar Prof Paul Glue was somewhat cynical about the initiative.<\/p>\n
“Peer-led mental health services face significant challenges including funding instability, role ambiguity and stigma within clinical environments.<\/p>\n
“Peer support workers often experience emotional burnout, professional isolation and poor compensation.<\/p>\n
“Additionally, these programmes struggle with maintaining programme fidelity and lack standardised, high-quality research evidence to support routine implementation across all mainstream systems.”<\/p>\n
There have been already two peer-led mental health services established in Christchurch and Auckland.<\/p>\n
Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey has trumpeted it as a “new way of care” , but Prof Glue said there was often a lack of clarity regarding the specific duties of a peer worker versus clinical staff, leading to frustration and integration issues.<\/p>\n
“While peer support shows promise for social functioning and empowerment, there is still a need for more high-quality, large-scale trials to confirm clinical effectiveness …<\/p>\n
“Finding the right match between a peer and a recipient \u2014 someone with similar conditions or experiences \u2014 can be challenging.”<\/p>\n
Mr Doocey said Prof Glue needed to engage more with his community and learn about the broad steps created to ensure more funding for peer-led services.<\/p>\n
“We are delivering new peer-led acute alternative services to reduce inpatient ward admissions.<\/p>\n
“The reality is people in crisis shouldn’t be waiting too long for an inpatient bed.<\/p>\n
“Peer-led acute alternative services provide more choice for people experiencing mental health issues and get people seen quicker.”<\/p>\n
But Prof Glue expressed doubt about the robustness of the model, as “maintaining appropriate professional boundaries while building an intimate, relatable connection is a constant tension”.<\/p>\n
Other concerns included the possible “triggering” of peers when dealing with acute mental health issues.<\/p>\n
Mr Doocey said Prof Glue was out-of-date in his views.<\/p>\n
“I expect HNZ to work closely with the chosen provider to ensure all risks are mitigated.<\/p>\n
“However, I reject any suggestion that these services are not worth the investment.”<\/p>\n
The procurement phase is under way and expectations are the initial service delivery will begin towards the end of this year.<\/p>\n