Hon Matt Doocey
Minister for Mental Health

Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey says it was excellent to meet with Christchurch Hospital Emergency Department staff and peer support specialists today to mark the start of a new service designed to better assist people presenting in mental distress.

“Christchurch ED is one of the busiest in New Zealand, I am pleased that there are now peer support specialists available to provide timely mental health and addiction support for people in their time of need,” Mr Doocey says.

“One of the initiatives I am most proud of a year in is the roll out of peer support workers. These are people who have their own lived experience with mental health that can empathise and really understand what the person in front of them are going through, which can provide a huge comfort.

“When I recently met with some of the peer support specialists in Wellington, I spoke to a worker who told me how surreal it was to be here today and have the ability now to now offer others hope and show that there is a pathway forward, like her journey. I think this is really powerful.

“The peer support specialists are available for people who are presenting to the ED in mental distress and will be able to provide comfort, as well as help connect them to community services if needed.”

Christchurch ED is the fourth hospital to provide this service after it was launched at Middlemore Hospital, Auckland City Hospital and Wellington Hospital. The service will be extended to Waikato ED in the coming months, and three further locations will be announced soon.

“I have been heartened to hear that early feedback is showing that peer support specialists are already proving to be beneficial for people presenting to emergency departments and I am looking forward to continuing to see the positive effects of this workforce.”

Last March, the Government announced that eight services would be stood up across two years using uncommitted funding. Each Peer Support Specialist service is estimated to cost between $300,000 and $500,000 per hospital.

A $1 million workforce fund has also been set up by the Government to provide Level 4 NZ Certificate in Health and Wellbeing (Peer Support) training and specific training for working in emergency departments.

“We are also rolling out crisis cafes around the country that will have peer workers in them. The next step as I signalled when I announced we are refreshing the eating disorders strategy is to grow and utilise the peer support workforce more in the eating disorders space,” Mr Doocey says.

“We know one of the biggest barriers to support is the workforce, that is why we are focused on growing the mental health and addiction workforce so people can access timely mental health support when and where they need it.”

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