A New Mental Health Commission

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A NewMental Health Commission
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Background

• Established in response to Mason report (Inquiry
  into mental health services) as a Ministerial
  Committee in 1996
• Formally established as an Autonomous Crown
  Entity under the Mental Health Commission Act
  1998 to monitor strategy key agencies,
  strengthen workforce, promote de-stigmatisation

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Achievements

• Successfully developed the Blueprint
• Articulated needs of service users
• Monitored sector to ensure mental health funds
  allocated to mental health services
• Advocated successfully for substantial increased
  mental health funding
• Challenged traditional models of care
• Raised public awareness of mental illness

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Many Challenges Ahead

• Sector has new targets standards to reach (Te
  Tahuhu Te Kokiri)
• Allocated funding not being spent
• More responsiveness to SUs families
• Review of Mental Health Act 1992
• Integrating emerging evidence models of care
  into practice
• Public understanding of mental health

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Vision of New Commission

• Exercise sector leadership
• Independent voice direct to Minister/Govt
• Monitor sector progress, facilitate dialogue and
  work with service users and their families,
  providers, NGOs, etc
• Promote and support research and service
  development and best practice models of care

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An Important Focus

• Identify the needs and aspirations of service
  users and their families
• Engage collaboratively with all relevant interest
  groups and endeavour to reflect a broad range of
  perspectives
• A difficult balancing act as not all interests
  align smoothly, but vital for the future cohesion
  of the sector

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New Statutory Function

• To act as an advocate for the interests of
  people with mental illness and their families
  generally (rather than for individuals or
  groups), while taking into account the interests
  of other stakeholders

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Other Statutory Functions

• Monitor the national mental health strategy
• Promote and facilitate collaboration and
  communication about mental health issues
• Promote better understanding of mental illness by
  community reduce stigma
• Support service development
• Stimulate research

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Themes Priorities

• Coherent legislative framework for sector
• Effective funding for sector/service users
• Mechanisms for improving service quality
• Integration of health services
• Rebalancing monitoring and advocacy
• Achieving outcomes of social inclusion and
  collaboration

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Monitoring

• Regular monitoring reports to Minister
• Trends achievements at a system-level
• Summary analysis of current sector issues
• In-depth analysis of particular issues
• Maintaining monitoring framework
• Developing an issues analysis approach
• Monitoring progress towards social inclusion
• Framework consistent with statutory role

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Advocacy

• Family inclusion and whanau ora
• Affirming human rights
• Integrated treatment
• Peer support
• Advanced directives
• Talking therapies
• Research agenda

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Sector Strategies

• Looking Forward (1994)
• Decrease the prevalence of mental illness
• Increase the health status of the community
• Outcomes from Te Tahuhu (2005)
• Same opportunities for all service users
• Families/whanau maintain their own wellbeing
• Communities value and support diversity

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Te Hononga

• To connect physically, socially and spiritually
• Achieving connectedness and synergies whenever
  people come together, whether as families/whanau
  and communities, or as part of an innovative
  workforce, responsive services integrated
  systems

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Overarching Principles

• Promoting mental health wellbeing for all New
  Zealanders
• A connectedness between systems, services,
  service users, families, Govt, the community
• Responses for people with experience of mental
  illness, will match needs
• Recovery values of self-determination, social
  inclusion, hope choice are the foundation of
  services

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Common Values

• Putting people first
• Wellbeing for everyone
• Recovery
• Affirming rights autonomy
• Building strengths and resilience
• Responding early
• Right responses
• Collaboration
• Services in communities

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Whanau Ora / Wellbeing

• Families being supported to achieve their maximum
  health and well-being
• Each family member, including older people and
  young, is valued and plays an integral part in
  whanau / family life.
• To achieve well-being, the needs of individuals,
  their families and communities must all be
  supported to flourish

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Responsive Services

• Available when where needed
• In community, locally staffed
• Support individuals background
• Language, gender, spirituality etc
• Choice about type of services
• Meet me on my / and my familys terms

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Integrated Systems

• Well signposted to enable a straightforward
  journey for service users through the social
  service environment where their needs will be met
  and rights respected, including
• any to obtain and retain paid employment
• education-related supports
• access to affordable good quality housing
• legal services and advocacy
• financial supports and advice

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Innovative Workforce

• The workforce in all services will connect with
  service-users and family/ whanau in ways that are
  appropriate according to the views, beliefs and
  protocols of those individuals and groups
• Staff will know how to work involve, those
  people closest to service users, work with
  advocates, and minimise power imbalance in
  relationships

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Vibrant Society

• In 2015, a more inclusive society that puts the
  person before the diagnosis
• Services will be part of an integrated system to
  improve and sustain the well-being of all sectors
  of the wider and increasingly diverse community
• Sector and societal systems and cultures will be
  aligned for collaborative action

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Summary

• New Mental Health Commission
• New legislation
• New tenure
• New strategic direction
• New work programme / SOI
• New Commissioners

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Future Challenges

• Provide independent, high quality advice direct
  to Minister/Government
• An effective watch-dog monitoring role
• Acting as an advocate for service-users and their
  families, with regard for others
• Positive vehicle for Government
• Valuable ally for the Sector