Media Release

23 March 2010

Redundant staff ‘gutted’ for themselves and the community

Fifteen “gutted and terribly upset,” Turanga Health and Vanessa Lowndes Centre staff will lose their jobs after Tairawhiti District Health chose an outside organisation to work with mental health patients in the community.

“In four months those staff will be gone, all getting exit letters,” says a saddened Turanga Health chief executive Reweti Rophia. “Many are gutted and terribly upset as they chew over the consequences for themselves and the whanau they work with.”

“We are bitterly disappointed at the Board’s decision.”

Tairawhiti District Health Board has announced it will contract Auckland-based Challenge Trust to deliver mental health support services in the community.

It’s meant 15 job losses (all non-clinical), and a $400,000 revenue drop for Turanga Health, which also runs the Vanessa Lowndes Centre or VLC. VLC helps people with disabilities, mainly mental health, into education and work.

Turanga Health services to be cut include the provision of short term accommodation for people with mental health conditions, giving relief to families and caregivers. VLC services to be cut include all the education and training courses offered like computing, literacy, numeracy, light engineering and woodwork. It’s also seen the demise of the team who helped people with disabilities into meaningful work.

Mr Ropiha said Turanga Health had applied to continue to offer the services, but were unsuccessful in all but one area, Kaupapa Maori Mental Health Support Services. These services include home-based support and advocacy.

The Maori health provider had been involved in a TDH-led review of mental health services ahead of last week’s announcement, but “we didn’t think this would be a consequence” said Mr Ropiha.

“We have been involved for 13 years in delivering community mental health services and we’ve had high levels of intimacy with individuals and the families,” he said. “Many of the staff were born and bred alongside the people they are helping. It’s this kind of familiarity which gives us access to their homes, to their wider issues, and a faster way of linking them with the programmes and people that can best help them.”

Mr Ropiha said Turanga Health and VLC staff will help whanau transition to their new community mental health provider. Turanga Health will look to support those who have been made redundant.

Ends

© Scoop Media