People in Central experiencing mental distress can more easily access crisis support and local care as a new mental health crisis support service has launched.

Te Whatu Ora’s new Central Lakes mental health crisis support service, provided by Central Lakes Family Services (CLFS), launched in early April after being gradually scaled up from mid January. 

CLFS general manager Tina Mongston said her team’s goal is to support people through an immediate crisis, help them get back on their feet, and link them to the right services for ongoing support.

“People don’t need to walk this path alone, we’ll be there... We also understand how concerning it can be for whānau when someone they care about is very distressed. 

“Working together, we can help problem solve, come up with a care plan that recognises their needs and goals, and set them on the pathway to recovery with the right people and support around them.”

 Te Whatu Ora executive director of mental health, addictions and intellectual disability for Southern, Toni Gutschlag, thanked all those involved in developing the new localised model (including clinicians, iwi, primary health providers, health improvement practitioners, community agencies, non government organisations, tangata whaiora, whānau and government agencies).

“There’s real passion and commitment across healthcare professionals, social agencies and the Central Lakes communities to ensure we have the right support available locally… They’ve generously shared their knowledge and expertise to help us design the model… and will now be frontline champions of the new service to our communities.”

Toni said the service will be continually reviewed and feedback sought to enable it to adapt to peoples’ needs.

The new service sits alongside the current 24/7 regional crisis response service and provides more local options to support people in mental distress, including those who may have otherwise needed to travel out of the area to access acute inpatient mental health services.   

 The service can be accessed by a referral from Te Whatu Ora Southern’s specialist mental health and addiction team (call anytime: 0800 467 846 and press 1 for Southland (Queenstown or 2 for Otago), or by a general practitioner (GP) referral.

While a new respite facility to provide short-term care is also planned, a location is yet to be found.

The new Central Lakes localised model of care is part of a programme of mental health reforms to bring mental health and wellbeing care closer to home and make it easier to access for everyone.

CLSF is a non-government organisation with branches in Alexandra, Queenstown and Wānaka. It runs the regional Women’s Refuge service and provides a range of social services to support families and individuals experiencing family violence, sexual harm, parenting support, perinatal support, and Ministry of Justice approved programmes. For more CLFS website.