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Mental health needs action, not more strategies
Dr Jonathan Coleman MP
National Party Associate Health
Spokesman
28 July 2006
Mental health needs action,
not more strategies
The public deserves better than more meaningless talk on mental health strategies from the Labour Government, says National Associate Health spokesman Dr Jonathan Coleman.
He is commenting following Associate Health Minister Jim Anderton’s speech to a conference hosted by the Phobic Trust in Auckland today.
"This Government is big on strategies and talk, but that's not much help for families living through the hell of mental illness on a daily basis.
"Problems in the mental health sector are getting worse, not better, and the sector needs common sense solutions to its problems, not more talk.
"The sector is under-resourced, and there is a workforce crisis.
"Rather than making self-congratulatory speeches, why doesn't Mr Anderton do something useful like freeing up the $17 million ring-fenced for acute services that DHBs across the country had left over at the end of last year? That money should be directed towards parts of the sector that desperately need it.
"No one should be fooled by today's talk-fest from Mr Anderton."
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