Warning: This story discusses self harm and suicide.A Wānaka woman who was trying to get help at a time of mental health crisis says she was made to feel like a burden.Her story follows the release of a community report that found people in Upper Clutha faced huge barriers when needing to access mental health support from a struggling, under-resourced system.Some described trying to access child mental health services as diabolical, while others chose to leave after years of struggling to get help.The Wānaka woman - who asked to remain anonymous - attempted suicide in late 2023.When she sought help, she said she was left alone in a hospital room for long periods without her medication, and offered no emotional support while overwhelmed and distressed.There is no emergency inpatient psychiatric service for people in crisis in the Queenstown Lakes.She was medically cleared at a local hospital the morning after she tried to harm herself, and said she felt pressured by a nurse to go home to free up a bed."I said to her... 'I cannot go home. Like, what, like I've literally just attempted suicide for the first time and you're going to send me home'," she said.She was eventually offered a respite bed in Dunedin."We finally got to Dunedin Hospital after all of this shit, of them making me feel like absolute shit, being made to feel like such a burden to them."The response made her feel more vulnerable, and she said Wānaka should have better support for people in crisis."The experience of being still sort of like an actively suicidal person, being almost forced to go home when they know you have no support ... I think that's just an example of how there is nothing here."Health New Zealand said there was a 24/7 mental health crisis response service covering Wānaka and people were transferred to inpatient facilities in Dunedin or Invercargill if needed.A crisis respite service, which was launched last year, was also available in Queenstown for people who present less acutely, a spokesperson said.Nine-month wait for an appointmentThe report from community-led advocacy group Health Action Wānaka found there were long wait times, care could be costly and there were shortages of specialists and other staff.Some respondents mentioned private mental health sessions costing up to $200 a visit, while others talked about waiting more than nine months for appointments.Read more:Health group to meet officials about ‘healthcare crisis’Healthcare crisis for Upper Clutha - reportHealth Action Wānaka mental health spokesperson Lucy Middendorf. PHOTO: SuppliedHealth Action Wānaka mental health spokesperson Lucy Middendorf was not surprised by the report findings.Her sister struggled for years to get support for severe depression from the public system in Wānaka."She had quite a number of referrals from her GP rejected or not accepted locally in Wānaka over many years," Middendorf said.When she was finally accepted, she sometimes had to go without treatment because she could not afford the travel costs, and she often waited three or more months for a medication change."It feels like the system is mostly interested in keeping people alive, but not really finding the right kind of tools for them to have a meaningful life," she said.Her sister ended up moving to Dunedin, because she could not get enough support in Wānaka.Now she was in a much better position with more access to support and programmes."If she'd had more services provided earlier in this journey, maybe she would actually be in a better position today," Middendorf said.Health Action Wānaka has asked the government to commit to introducing telehealth psychiatric consults.The current services were struggling to cope with a rapidly growing population, Middendorf said."I think telehealth psychiatric consults could actually save lives. You've got situations where patients could receive treatment and medication a lot quicker," she said.Begging for helpThe report found there were insufficient mental health services for children and young people, which was echoed in responses from community members.One resident said their family had been sitting on the referral list for child mental health services for 18 months without seeing anyone, describing it as diabolical."We've been forced to engage a local private psychologist after literally begging her to take us on as everyone was not taking any new clients. She's now left Wānaka, so we have to travel to Queenstown as nobody local will take us on," they said.Their child was too young to access services available in Cromwell."Our GP has been amazing and has finally, in desperation and after six months of high levels of mental health issues, managed to contact a consulting psychiatrist who has prescribed anti-depressants. It's been a nightmare," they said.Not-for-profit ADL works with young people and their whānau to improve mental health and well-being across the lower South Island.Chief executive Clive McArthur said gaps in healthcare in Wānaka were exacerbated by the region's isolation and demand."Their constrained resources just mean that support isn't always at the right time, the right place and you do find that services are stretched," he said.There were good services in the area, but there were not enough of them and there weren't enough staff for the demand levels, he said."It's stress and distress across the system. People worried, people stressed and stretched and obviously if there is that unmet need, then those issues that people were presenting with can get worse."The government earmarked $2.6 billion for ring-fenced mental health and addiction funding this financial year.As the Mental Health Minister and Associate Health Minister responsible for Rural Health, Matt Doocey said he had set clear expectations for accessing support."What I can commit to is the focus on ensuring that people in the Upper Clutha area, like other parts of New Zealand, have that guaranteed level of service of being able to engage primary mental health and addiction services within one week and specialists within three," he said.If areas were not up to scratch, he said local officials needed to put action plans in place to make that happen and the funding could be used to assist the areas lagging behind if needed.Telehealth services could be a gamechanger for rural communities and he would follow up with officials to work out how they could be rolled out faster, Doocey said."Then hopefully we move to a point in New Zealand where irrespective of where you live, you will be guaranteed a level of service."In 2023, the Ministry of Health launched the Rural Health Strategy for the next decade, outlining five priorities.They included ensuring services were available closer to home for rural communities, supporting rural communities to access services outside their area, and making sure the needs of rural communities were considered in decisions.Health New Zealand Te Waipounamu acting regional commissioner Greg Hamilton said the organisation was committed to improving access to rural healthcare services and ensuring ongoing financial sustainability for hospitals and trusts operating in rural communities."We acknowledge clinical and financial sustainability remains a challenge and we will continue to work closely with communities and providers to address this," he said.Several initiatives were underway including the Rural Hospital Sustainability project and the Rural Urgent Unplanned Care redesign project to address sustainability concerns following on from the Rural Health Strategy.Health New Zealand had not fully considered the Health Action Wānaka report yet, but planned to work with the group "to achieve the desired outcomes for the local community", Hamilton said."Catering for the needs of the growing population of the Central Otago region is an ongoing consideration for Health New Zealand in terms of what might be needed right now, and in the future, and how best to deliver those services," Hamilton said."We are committed to working with community leaders, papatipu rūnanga, and experts to design, deliver, and commission sustainable services that meet the current and emerging healthcare needs of the local community."Doocey would visit Wānaka as part of a rural health roadshow in July to update the community about the Rural Health Strategy and seek feedback about how it was being implemented.Health Action Wānaka says to inform its advocacy, the group undertook research to understand and document the Upper Clutha community's experience of accessing healthcare services, from a patient and healthcare provider perspective.About 300 members of the Upper Clutha community were consulted with for the research via two online surveys, focus groups, and one-on-one interviews from July to September 2024.Where to get help:Need to Talk? Free call or text 1737 any time to speak to a trained counsellor, for any reason.Lifeline: 0800 543 354 or text HELP to 4357.Suicide Crisis Helpline: 0508 828 865 / 0508 TAUTOKO. This is a service for people who may be thinking about suicide, or those who are concerned about family or friends.Depression Helpline: 0800 111 757 or text 4202.Samaritans: 0800 726 666.Youthline: 0800 376 633 or text 234 or email [email protected]'s Up: 0800 WHATSUP / 0800 9428 787. This is free counselling for 5 to 19-year-olds.Asian Family Services: 0800 862 342 or text 832. Languages spoken: Mandarin, Cantonese, Korean, Vietnamese, Thai, Japanese, Hindi, Gujarati, Marathi, and English.Rural Support Trust Helpline: 0800 787 254.Healthline: 0800 611 116.Rainbow Youth: (09) 376 4155.OUTLine: 0800 688 5463.If it is an emergency and you feel like you or someone else is at risk, call 111.
