10. Question No. 10—HealthMATT DOOCEY (National—Waimakariri) to the Minister of HealthQuestion No. 10—Health10. MATT DOOCEY (National—Waimakariri) to the Minister of Health: Why as of February 2020 has the Government only spent $3.2m of the promised $455m announced in Budget 2019 for a new frontline mental health service and why in the recent re-announcement of $40m for this new frontline mental health service was the rollout not expected to be completed until the middle of 2021?Hon Dr DAVID CLARK (Minister of Health): In answer to the first part of the question the total investment of $455 million is for a national roll-out over four years and that roll-out will continue thereafter. A total of $25 million has been allocated to service delivery in 2019-20 and the $3.2 million distributed to providers as at February 2020 that the member refers to relates to sustaining the 22 previously pilot sites providing services through general practice and continuation of other existing primary mental health and addiction supports. I'd also note that this Government has also funded other new initiatives including Mana Ake which has helped around 5000 primary and intermediate aged children in Canterbury in Kaikōura and Piki which is providing mental health support for 18- to 24-year-olds in Wellington and Wairarapa which is not to mention nurses in schools across the country. We've also put more into acute services mental health alcohol and drug support and building new mental health facilities. And in answer to the second part of the member's question it was not a re-announcement; these are new contracts we're announcing for new services that will serve a population of 1.5 million once it is fully rolled out. It does take time to train new workforces and establish new services.Matt Doocey: Thank you Mr Speaker. Why is the Minister using the excuse of available workforce when New Zealand Association of Counsellors accredited primary care counsellors contracted to DHBs are being told there is no funding available to respond to the growing demand of mental health referrals as a result of the impacts of COVID-19?Hon Dr DAVID CLARK: What I would say is that first off I want to thank those who are working in this response because they've been working tirelessly through COVID-19. A number of additional access points have been set up and that includes of course the Mentemia app—35000 downloads in just 10 days—Melon which is an online resource that's being supervised by counsellors; and Sparklers at Home—48000 people have accessed that uniquely in a month. And Wise Group has stood up an app. These responses are there to support New Zealanders' immediate needs in response to COVID-19. The Government has already allocated an additional $15 million to support the psychosocial wellbeing of New Zealanders during this outbreak. In terms of a specific issue the member might be raising a specific instance I'd be happy to hear more from him if he wants to put a question down in writing.Matt Doocey: Is the Minister's new front-line mental health service announced in 2019 but only to be partially rolled out by the middle of 2021—14 months away—too late for the many people described by New Zealand Medical Association chair Dr Kim Baddock at the Epidemic Response Committee last week when she said her colleagues have seen a huge increase in the amount of mental issues they are facing?Hon Dr DAVID CLARK: I would refer to some of those things I've mentioned in my previous answer. The uptake of those services has been extraordinary in a short period of time and I think bears witness to the appropriateness of them rolling out during the COVID period. I'd also note that the 1737 number has helped tens of thousands of New Zealanders this year and has scaled up significantly. So the Government has responded quite specifically to the situation we find ourselves in. I would also note that already 18000 free sessions have been delivered to New Zealanders by this new front-line service. Many of those people might not have received this support in a timely fashion without this new service. And we're rolling it out nationwide. By the middle of next year a population of 1.5 million people will have access to a new service at their local GP for free. This service was simply not available previously. The demand for mental health services had nearly doubled—or perhaps over doubled—in a decade and the support for services had only gone up by around half the amount needed. So introducing this new free service for Kiwis is something that is timely and I believe the uptake rates of these services indicate that they are providing a unique and important service for New Zealanders that was not previously available.Matt Doocey: Why is the Minister saying that there is more funding available for mental health services when at the recent DHB annual reviews DHB representatives said they couldn't point to where the money is exactly and they think the $1.9 billion hasn't flowed out yet?Hon Dr DAVID CLARK: I can't answer for those unnamed representatives the member speaks of but what I would say is of course that the DHBs received over $200 million more in the ring-fenced mental health fund. So $200 million is certainly not nothing and that's in their annual budget and they received $200 million more the year before as well. So on average I think it's $103 million more per annum that has gone into DHBs specifically for mental health—off the top of my head—on top of the $1.3 billion which of course is being rolled out over a four- or five-year period. So the member will of course know that our record as a country is of under-investment in this area. I'm very proud to be a part of a Government that is for the first time taking mental health seriously.Matt Doocey: Which of the following statements does he consider most correct: the New Zealand Association of Counsellors president Christine Macfarlane who said the Government's latest mental health announcement is a total waste of taxpayers' money or following the Minister's interview on his announcement on Saturday Newshub Nation reporter Simon Shepherd saying this has got a slight KiwiBuild flavour about it?Hon Dr DAVID CLARK: I disagree with the first comment and I certainly haven't seen the second.