The last few weeks have seen some changes in the MHAIDS leadership team. Weare saying mā te wā to Karla, who has accepted a secondment to the role of Lead Specialist for Mental Health Services within the National Hospital and Specialist Services team at Te Whatu Ora.
I would like to thank Karla for all her work driving the Change Programme over the past 18 months. I know that she is looking forward to shaping the future of mental health services at a national level in her new role.
I am pleased to introduce Scott Ambridge, who will be stepping into MHAIDS’ Interim Executive Director role and working in partnership with me to lead the service.
Scott has over 20 years’ experience working in healthcare, with a particular focus on disability and mental health and addiction. He has led a significant change agenda at Te Uru Ruahi, Mental Health & Addiction Services for Te Pae Hauora o Ruahine o Tararua | Mid-Central, as well as at disability support service Enable New Zealand.
Scott’s work at Te Uru Ruahi has much in common with our own vision for change, with its focus on a locality-based and person/whānau-centred model of care. The resulting model of care, Te Mātāpuna o te Ora, is now in the implementation stage, and will see services move towards a wellness and recovery-focused approach, with an emphasis on care taking place in the community, with increased access and choice.
The knowledge Scott has gained through this process will be invaluable as we move forward with our change programme.
Paul Oxnam
Executive Clinical Director, MHAIDS
Kaupapa Māori Mental Health and Addiction
Welcoming De’arna Sculley
We are very excited to welcome De’arna Sculley (Tainui Waikato, Ngāti Apa, Ngāti Pākehā) to the role of Project Manager of the Kaupapa Māori Mental Health and Addiction workstream.
Dee has a wealth of experience in mental health, including in specialist Māori Mental Health teams across Capital, Coast and Hutt Valley, as well as in the health education sector, working as a tutor at Whitireia in the postgraduate Nursing Mental Health and Addiction paper.
“Māori mental health is my passion,” says Dee. “This role has the potential to make a positive change at a whole different level and make a difference for so many more people.
“Consultation with the local community will be pivotal in the development of the needs for Māori, with specific input from key stakeholders and mana whenua. This will demonstrate a changed mindset and a different approach to mental health for Māori that is community-led.
“It’s really important for me to build connections with other projects in the programme, to make sure equity is reflected across the programme. It needs to be front and centre of all our planning.” Read Dee’s full profile online.
Community Mental Health and Addiction
Local Specialist Mental Health & Addiction Service proposal
Thank you to all who gave feedback on the high-level concept for the Local Specialist Mental Health & Addiction Service proposal that we shared with you earlier this year.
The feedback has now been collated and themed, and you can view a summary document here.
We have also begun to update the Frequently Asked Questions to provide details about some of the points that were raised as part of the feedback process. We will keep adding to this over the next few weeks.
The focus is now shifting onto a detailed design plan. The project team has reached out to people from across the mental health and addiction sector, inviting them to a series of design workshops taking place in March. These include many of your colleagues, who will be able to keep you informed and provide input on your behalf.
The workshops will explore questions such as ‘How can we operate a rapid response function that supports people in need, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week?” and ‘How can we operate as an integrated single service across all of our different teams and functions?'
The work will include designing processes, systems, procedures and protocols that will work for staff, tāngata whaiora, and their whānau.
Along with other feedback received, this will help shape a detailed design plan for the service, which will be presented for consultation later in the year.
Wakaiti Saba Dr Alastair Willis
Group Manager Clinical Director
MHAIDS Mental Health and Addiction Service
Other projects within the Change Programme
This month we are highlighting some of the other projects that sit under the Community Mental Health & Addiction workstream of the Change Programme. The overall vision of transformation needs to ensure the different, interdependent streams of the Programme can collaborate closely and work as a whole. Here is an overview of some of the projects that are under the Community workstream.
AOD (alcohol and other drugs) collaborative
The AOD Collaborative is a peer- and provider-led platform using a collective impact approach to drive implementation of the AOD Model of Care, which was finalised in 2021.
The AOD Collaborative includes five Priority Pathway Working Groups to deliver system improvement for specific priority populations: Māori, Pacific, youth, severe and rural.
The Collaborative will implement the model of care through co-leadership with Māori and Lived Experience, with district-wide representation from the AOD sector and links to national networks. It enhances service coordination and relationships and fosters shared solution-finding to current and future system issues.
Peer Support
The Peer Support project aims to increase the capacity and capability of the peer support workforce in clinical and community settings. We will do this in several ways, including understanding and strengthening our leadership and staff culture; implementing training pathways, information infrastructure and systems and HR processes; and by investing in services and community providers.
We want to empower the peer support workforce to thrive by using their lived experiences in a safe and supportive environment.
Mental Health Addiction Crisis Support (MHACS)
The MHACS project aims to improve the quality of treatment and support, choices, and outcomes for people presenting to emergency departments (ED) (and other relevant acute care locations) in acute distress. A key aspect is ensuring ED staff know what services are available in the community and how to connect patients with them. We are working collaboratively with key stakeholders to develop an enhanced acute care pathway that will provide integrated and accessible care for these people.
AoD collaborative update
The Alcohol and other drugs (AoD) collaborative group is a firmly established and valued network for those working in the sector.
Its current focus is on how to address the needs of priority groups identified through the Model of Care, as well as making sure the voices of AoD stakeholders are heard and responded to across the ecosystem as the change programme progresses.
Engagement with key stakeholders is taking place across the collaborative, seeking to identify keys to success and future sustainability. Project leads are working to strengthen a Te Tiriti-guided approach, to ensure leadership by Māori is prioritised, actioned and supported.
Planning is underway for a proposed refresh of the project’s Model of Care, to make sure it aligns with the Te Whatu Ora and Te Aka Whaiora national work programme and the existing models of care across the District.
Acute Inpatient Mental Health
Christchurch visit informs acute facility design
Members of the group that has been working on the design of the new acute inpatient mental health facility in the Hutt Valley, paid a visit to a similar unit under construction in Christchurch late last year.
“Seeing the room sizes, workflow areas, and use of courtyards in person, rather than trying to interpret paper plans, was really helpful,” said Hiraina McKenzie, MHAIDS Kaitohutohu Māori. “The use of glass was effective in bringing natural light and a sense of openness.
“From a cultural perspective, it was interesting to see how they incorporated Te Ao Māori in the design. This was evident in the entrance way, the planned carvings for the front reception areas, and the placement of rooms, such as eating and social areas.”
As part of this phase, the user groups are considering how other necessary support services (e.g., food supplies, cleaning, and maintenance services) are provided within the environment with minimal disruption.
It is exciting to see the project develop to the next stage and while this work is occurring the clinical leadership team will be exploring how the vision for the model of care will be realised. Early work is underway to explore opportunities to align the model of care work with other existing projects and to create an implementation plan.
