A draft mental-health plan promises a new start for mental-health patients still "languishing" in wards, Corstorphine Baptist Community Trust chief executive Wendy Halsey says.
Ms Halsey said she was impressed by Southern District Health Board's draft mental health and addiction sector plan, "Raise Hope", which is out for public consultation.
The plan said the DHB was providing too many inpatient mental-health beds, and these would be reduced in favour of community services.
The plan also warned of tighter funding - with a potential $6.3 million overrun in Southern - because of "ring-fenced" mental-health funds now having to cover the cost of primary mental-health care and anti-psychotic drugs.
Ms Halsey said the funding warning was the "scary" part of an otherwise excellent plan.
The financial constraints raised questions about whether the plan could be properly implemented, she said.
The plan acknowledged non-government organisations had been under-utilised, and needed greater investment, she said.
Contrary to popular belief, there were still people for whom the system lacked the "imagination" to move into the community. They were "languishing" in wards, not living life to its full potential.
"I believe there's a move afoot to look at long-term beds and say 'do people really need to be incarcerated for the rest of their lives?'."
While there would always be people who needed inpatient care, there were patients in wards in Dunedin who would be better off in the community, Ms Halsey said.
The trust provides residential and home-based mental-health services for children, youth, and adults.
The Raise Hope plan can be viewed at the DHB's website, www.southerndhb.govt.nz. Submissions close on April 11.
