A "new regime" within the Southern District Health Board has resulted in a major turnaround in relations with the community mental health sector, Corstorphine Baptist Community Trust chief executive Wendy Halsey says.
Ms Halsey was one of more than 100 community representatives who met DHB planning and funding staff in Balclutha recently.
She was pleased staff were formulating a regional five-year mental health and addiction plan, the lack of which had been "ridiculous".
An "old cynic", who normally left such meetings feeling she had heard nothing new, she was impressed by a willingness to listen that had seemed genuine.
"I have not felt for a very long time there has been respect for the NGO sector."
Last year's restructuring and reshuffling of roles in planning, funding and finance seemed to have brought a new approach, she said.
An example of how strained relationships had been last year was the cancellation by DHB staff of regular "roundtable" meetings between the board's planning and funding staff and sector representatives, after a meeting in April she had described to the Otago Daily Times as "candid", Ms Halsey said. Southern DHB funding and finance general manager Robert Mackway-Jones was also pleased with the "positive" meeting.
The plan would be developed over the next few months with the "full involvement" of the sector.
It would set priorities for the next five years.
"I do expect this will identify priority areas that may be different from what we do now," Mr Mackway-Jones said.
Staff hope to launch the Southern DHB mental health and addiction plan 2011-16 on October 10, World Mental Health Day.
