Kia ora
October sees several Pacific language weeks take place, as we celebrate the languages of Tuvalu, Fiji, Niue and Tokelau. So, it is a very fitting time for MHAIDS to welcome Moana Solomona into the key role of Principal Advisor, Pacific Peoples.
Moana is an experienced clinician, having spent more than 20 years working in the mental health and addiction sector in New Zealand, Australia and Samoa. She has recently returned to New Zealand after spending seven years setting up the Alcohol and Drug Court in Samoa.
We are looking forward to working with Moana to advance mental health and wellbeing for Pacific Peoples across our districts. She will be an asset to MHAIDS and will provide vital perspective and oversight as we move forward with the Mental Health and Addiction Change Programme.
In more good news, we are pleased to welcome new team members to the Co-Response Team (CRT), which brings together staff from Police, Wellington Free Ambulance and MHAIDS to offer support to people in mental distress from a wider range of specialists.
Social Worker Tracy Mashonga joined the CRT earlier in November, with Registered Nurse Joy-Maree Alexander joining the team next month. This is following the announcement earlier this year about MHAIDS securing funding for more mental health professionals to join the CRT.
As we move forward with the establishment of the Local Adult Specialist Mental Health and Addiction Service, we have begun taking the action required to make sure we have a leadership structure in place that supports our vision, principles, model of care and future direction. We will be taking a step-by-step approach to this mahi, with the first phase (tranche) focusing on leadership roles.
As we move towards the end of 2023, we have several updates to make across a range of projects and workstreams within the Change Programme, highlighting the diversity of the work taking place to improve the way services are delivered locally.
You can read about these below, and we hope you find this pānui informative.
Ngā mihi
Paul Oxnam Scott Ambridge
Executive Clinical Director, MHAIDS Executive Director, MHAIDS
Community Mental Health and Addiction
Building skills and connections at AOD symposium
The second annual AOD (Alcohol and other Drugs) Workforce Symposium took place on 19 October at Pipitea Marae in Wellington. It offered AOD practitioners in the region a chance to upskill and undertake professional development, as well as a valuable opportunity to come together and make connections.
This symposium was organised by the AOD Collaborative, a peer- and provider-led collective impact group of AOD stakeholders from across the Capital, Coast and Hutt Valley and Wairarapa districts. The Collaborative has identified workforce development and shared training opportunities as key priorities to improve the AOD system of care. Read more on our website.
In further good news, funding has now been allocated to the MHAIDS Addiction Service to implement and run addiction symposiums for the Central Region. This is in recognition of their focused and demonstrated commitment to the development of addiction services and workforce.
Pictured L-R: AOD Collaborative members Jeremy Tumoana, Carole Koha, Sam McBride and Peter Barnett, together with symposium organiser Annie Murfitt.
Whakarongorau Aotearoa to take over Te Haika overnight shifts in December 
The first step to transitioning Te Haika’s telephone triage functions to Whakarongorau Aotearoa will happen on 4 December. Whakarongorau will take over managing calls to Te Haika between 11pm–8am seven nights a week, including public holidays. We are pleased to partner with Whakarongorau Aotearoa to offer people in our communities overnight telephone support.
The new arrangement with Whakarongorau Aotearoa means that tāngata whaiora and whānau can still access telephone support through the Te Haika 0800 number at any time, but overnight calls to the service will be picked up by a mental health clinician from Whakarongorau on behalf of MHAIDS.
These clinicians will offer continuity of service to those experiencing mental distress during this time. They will triage the call, referring people in urgent need of support to the Crisis Resolution Service and handing non-urgent contacts over to MHAIDS for follow-up.
Over the next few weeks, we will communicate directly with affected teams and stakeholders to ensure they understand how the new system will work.
Expert and governance groups guide Te Awakairangi mahi
Exciting progress is happening in the Te Awakairangi workstream, as we move closer to developing a model of service delivery for future Māori mental health and addiction services in the Hutt Valley.
A mix of cultural, clinical and lived experience expertise is needed to provide kāwanatanga, governance and oversight to guide the development of the future service. This applies both to articulation of the kawa and tikanga (principles and values) that will be the foundation of the service, and to its design and implementation.
In October the Expert Advisory and Governance groups held initial meetings. These groups will play crucial roles in the design and implementation of the future Te Awakairangi Māori Mental Health and Addiction Service. Read more on our website.
Pictured back row: (L-R): Holly Tahere (lived experience advisor), Christine Neumann (Te Whatu Ora), Alicia Graham (Project Manager, Community Mental Health and Addiction Integration), Beau Markland (Whaioranga Trust), Hineone Gilbert (Registered Nurse), Jeremy Tumoana (Manager, Te Paepae Arahi Trust). Pictured front row: Tammy Kaiwai (Commissioning Manager), Kahu Flutey (Educational Psychologist), Maire Ransfield (Te Whare Mārie), De’arna Sculley (Project Manager, Māori Mental Health and Addiction)
Community Child and Adolescent Mental Health
Champions of Child and Adolescent Mental Health
Playing an important part in implementation and refresh of the Choice and Partnership Approach (CAPA) is a group of ‘CAPA champions’. Representing each of the seven CAMHS teams across our districts, champions are clinicians who work closely with their respective team leaders to achieve greater adherence to CAPA.
“Champions are individuals who are committed to the success of the CAPA model,” says Clarissa Ventress, Operations Manager of Younger Persons Mental Health and Addiction at MHAIDS.
“They inspire and motivate peers and serve as role models. This encourages a sense of ownership and accountability among team members - making change more sustainable.”
Find out more.
Inpatient Acute Mental Health
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Work continues at the Hutt Hospital campus to remove Kowhai and Pilmuir Houses to make space to build the new Acute Inpatient Mental Health Unit.
