Psychiatrists are concerned young people in New Zealand are missing out on specialist mental health care with potentially life-long repercussions.
New research from the Universities of Otago and Auckland has found mental health issues are already worsening among young people, and Covid-19 has further increased that demand.
University of Auckland child and adolescent psychiatrist Dr Hiran Thabrew said the Government’s increase in funding for mental health had been focused on primary care.
"That’s great, but it has been done at the expense of increasing specialist services to meet the increasing demand."
The research draws on a survey by the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists of New Zealand doctors specialising in child and adolescent psychiatry, on the state of public mental health services.
Of the 80% of the the entire workforce who responded, 97% said demand had increased in the past two years, and 88% said young people were "often" or "very often" unable to access the right mental healthcare at the right time.
"Young people are notoriously reluctant to reach out for help. So when they do, it's usually when things are really bad. If they are not seen and responded to, they may not ask for help again."
Dr Thabrew said rates of self-harm had gone up by about 25% among 15-19 year-olds and by about 50% in 10-14 year-olds.
"So, there are lots more referrals to services, or presentations to hospital, after mental health crises for young people.
"Last year, there were over 5500 young people under 19 who presented to hospital [after self-harm]."
Lead author and University of Otago (Wellington) psychological medicine head Associate Professor Susanna Every-Palmer said the fact that 80% of the workforce responded to the survey, showed how strongly they felt about these issues.
"A key lesson from this research is that we urgently need to invest in the mental health workforce.
"Participants identified three main areas: increasing the specialist workforce by focusing on the local pipeline; recruitment of overseas-trained mental health professionals; and retaining our existing staff.
"In addition, we need to be thinking about innovative ways to engage young people, such as using online tools and telehealth and e-health interventions.
"To succeed, it will be important to heed the concerns of those already trying to do the work."
