4. Mental Health Services—Demand Funding and QualityHon ANNETTE KING (Deputy Leader—Labour) to the Minister of HealthMental Health Services—Demand Funding and Quality4. Hon ANNETTE KING (Deputy Leader—Labour) to the Minister of Health: Does he stand by his statement that it's important people can access the appropriate mental health and addiction services that they need"?Hon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN (Minister of Health): Yes. That is why this Government has increased mental health and addiction services funding from $1.1 billion to $1.4 billion. That includes $64 million as part of the Prime Minister's Youth Mental Health Project and an extra $24 million in Budget 2016 for increased access to mental health services. That includes support for early access to services via a telephone triage service. Working in mental health is always a very challenging job and I value the professionalism and dedication of our mental health workforce.Hon Annette King: In light of that answer how does he account for the Waikato District Health Board (DHB) reporting on 24 August "extreme risk to patients' safety" because the number of patients needing treatment had led to "excessive wait times for emergency departments and delay with assessment and treatment"?Hon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN: As the member knows those comments were made following a very serious incident and unfortunately it was a tragedy in the Waikato. As a result the director of mental health went there. He undertook an investigation. He made a series of recommendations which have been acted on.Hon Annette King: I seek leave to table a memorandum from the board dated 24 August—well after the event and the public were excluded so it is not available; I got it through the Official Information Act (OIA)—showing that the risks are current now.Mr SPEAKER: Leave is sought to table that particular memorandum. Is there any objection? There is none. It can be tabled. Document by leave laid on the Table of the House.Hon Annette King: Is he aware that mental health patients presenting to emergency departments have increased by nearly 30 percent between June 2011 and December 2015 while at the same time DHBs are reporting blowouts in their mental health budgets?Hon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN: There is no doubt there has been an increase in demand. There are a full range of factors that explain that. One of the reasons around increased presentations at emergency departments is that the police are now taking those patients directly there as I understand it rather than them being assessed out in the community. At the same time as the member will know there was an extra $568 million that went into the health budget this year. There is a mental health ring-fence and on top of that DHBs have the discretion to direct part of that money—on top of the ring-fence—into mental health services. So I am confident that although it is a tough area to work in we actually have a very good mental health service.Simon O'Connor: How is mental health demand increasing and how is the Government providing better access for these services?Hon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN: Demand for mental health services has increased from 2.3 percent of the population a decade ago to 3.5 percent of the population in the last year so that is a huge increase from 96000 people to 164000 people accessing specialist services each year but that is consistent with international trends. Despite that steady increase in demand more Kiwis are being seen sooner by mental health services. For example back in 2011 only 60 percent of young people seeking mental health help for the first time were seen within 3 weeks. By 2015 that had risen to 70 percent—so from 60 to 70 percent being seen within 3 weeks. The system is improving but there is more work to be done. Officials also advise me that the district health boards have in place crisis response teams that will respond to psychological emergencies within a target for 24 hours.Hon Annette King: Does the Government's allocated funding for mental health and addiction services to DHBs fully fund its ring-fenced mental health expenditure?Hon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN: Yes.Hon Annette King: Is Canterbury DHB a beacon of his success in adequate funding for mental health when it revealed a $23 million shortfall in mental health funding this year and is now forecasting a $37 million deficit by the end of the year with one of the main reasons being a demand in mental health services?Hon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN: I do not accept the member's interpretation of those figures. I mean the Canterbury DHB budget went up $44 million this year. The population statistics that we use are those that are provided by Statistics New Zealand. Funding in Canterbury for health has gone up there is a ring-fence and Canterbury DHB has the discretion to spend extra money on mental health. On top of that in February the Government put in an extra $20 million for mental health services. It consulted the sector and that was widely accepted. So people are not missing out on mental health services in Canterbury. Hon Annette King: I seek leave to table a letter from the Canterbury District Health Board under the Official Information Act showing the $23 million shortfall this year in mental health funding. That is dated 24 June. Mr SPEAKER: Is there another document?Hon Annette King: And the second document I seek leave to table is the board minutes from the Canterbury District Health Board dated 15 September showing a predicted $37 million deficit for this year. Mr SPEAKER: Order! Can I just clarify with the second document is it—Hon Annette King: I got it through the Official Information Act.Mr SPEAKER: In both cases the response to the OIA? I will therefore put the leave for both the letter from the Canterbury DHB and then the minutes of the board meeting of the Canterbury DHB. Is there any objection to those two documents being tabled? There is not.Documents by leave laid on the Table of the House.Hon Annette King: Does he still think there is no need for an inquiry into mental health in New Zealand in light of the recent reviews into Waitemata Waikato and Capital and Coast DHB mental health services and Northland MidCentral and Nelson Marlborough carrying out their own reviews around patient and workforce safety?Hon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN: No I do not accept that there is a need for a further inquiry. It is always a difficult area. The Government has increased funding and as I said more New Zealanders are receiving more services more quickly than previously."