The government has launched a "targeted plan" to prevent suicide, outlining a five-year whole-of-government approach.
Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey announced the latest Suicide Prevention Action Plan at Te Rau Ora, a Māori-focused mental health and addiction organisation, on Tuesday.
Doocey said New Zealand continued to face "stubbornly high" suicide rates, with 617 people dying last year by suspected suicide, and the government had a "duty" to do more to ensure everyone could access support and go on to live the life they deserved.
"What sets this plan apart from the last is the actions in the plan are now focused on delivery with clear milestones, completion dates and, importantly, an accountable agency."
The plan included 21 health-led new actions and 13 cross-agency new actions.
"The action's overall aim is to improve access to suicide prevention and postvention supports, grow a workforce that is able to support those at risk of - or affected by - suicide, and strengthen our focus on prevention and early intervention," Doocey said.
The plan specified four new health and cross-government actions:
- Improve access to suicide prevention and postvention supports
- Grow a capable and confident suicide prevention and postvention workforce
- Strengthen the focus on prevention and early intervention
- Improve the effectiveness of suicide prevention and our understanding of suicide
The first action included establishing a suicide prevention community fund by the end othis year that focused on populations experiencing "higher rates of suicidal distress", like maternal, youth and rural communities, to go alongside funds already available for Māori and Pacific peoples affected.
By the end of October, it would also look to establish peer support roles in eight emergency departments for people presenting to hospital with mental health and addiction needs.
Before that, six regionally led and community-designed crisis recovery cafés or hubs would be set up, so people didn't always have to resort to an emergency department and could receive care in the community.
Doocey told Nine to Noon a crisis café is a somewhere someone can go either on their own or brought in by a family member or a friend.
"It is a place that is a safe space for someone in distress that is staffed by people with lived experience, people who have been there before, to get alongside someone," he said.
"Not to tell them what to do but just to share their story of hope and how they've got through the challenging times of their life."
Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey said the plan was based on contributions from 400 people and organisations with their personal experiences. Photo: RNZ/Nathan Mckinnon
Growing the workforce included expanded suicide prevention training and guidance to better equip those workforces, as well as families to support people who may experience suicidal distress.
Action 4 included establishing a cross-agency working group by the end of September that would monitor progress against suicide prevention actions.
Doocey said he was particularly proud of this plan, because it was grounded in lived experience, after 400 people and organisations contributed to the consultation process, including those who had experienced suicidal distress themselves or lost someone to suicide.
"We've heard through extensive engagement with communities, families, and people who have been affected by suicide, that they expect the whole-of government approach to suicide prevention and clear actions that can make a tangible difference for communities," he said.
"We've taken on board these crucial insights and feedback and I do want to acknowledge the individuals and community groups - over 400 of them - who provided valuable lived experience and feedback to this plan we're launching today."
He said the feedback was that the last plan was poorly targeted, it lacked focus, and that there wasn't clear roles and responsibilities and ultimately accountability.
"That's what you'll find in this plan we're announcing today - clear roles and responsibilities, clear timelines and overall, clear accountability to making sure we do make a timely difference," he said.
Doocey said that the action plan won't be a "tick-box exercise", and that agencies will be held accountable.
He also announced the launch of a new well-being promotional campaign to respond to significant events.
"This will have an initial focus on youth but flexibility within it to target other groups," he said.
He said he saw evidence of well-being campaign - 'All Right?' - making a difference after the Canterbury earthquakes.
As part of the announcement, Doocey acknowledged those who had lost their lives to suicide, and those who were struggling with mental health or addiction.
Implementation of the plan will be supported by existing funding of $20 million a year, plus an additional $16 million a year to improve access to mental health and suicide prevention supports through initiatives identified in the plan.
The head of the Mental Health Foundation said the plan was encouraging but more needed to be done in the wider community.
Foundation chief executive Shaun Robinson said additional funds targeted towards at risk groups were a promising step forward.
But he said the move came against a backdrop of challenging social and economic times which were placing added strain on a "struggling" mental health system.
"We need to think about what's happening in our wider community that impacts on people's sense of hope. Unemployment, economic problems, increased conflict over things like race, all these things do contribute to the issues around suicide.
"So in many ways we're taking two steps forward and perhaps one step back in New Zealand," Robinson said.
Robinson said Minister Doocey was doing what he could with the limited resources the government was making available to combat suicide.
"The scale of all the changes is relatively small. There's a lot of pilots. There's a lot of limited numbers of new services and that remains to be seen whether that will be enough to make much of a difference," Robinson said.
Robinson said he would like to see greater investment in education and programmes directed towards young people to help them deal with adversity and bolster their mental well-being.
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