‘Modifying’ the ring-fenced funding for specialist mental health services is just one suggestion in the Blueprint II document just out for consultation.
The Mental Health Commission consultation document says Blueprint II proposes a “bold vision” for mental health and addiction services including providing faster and earlier “closer to home” responses using existing mental health resources and the wider health sector.
The original Blueprint document saw considerable investment and development in the sector over the past decade including ring-fenced dedicated funding for specialist mental health services.
But the draft Blueprint, designed to guide the next decade, warns that “given the overall tight financial environment” the sector could not “count on new investment, or expect any new money” unless it could show it was using its current resources “most effectively” and there were clear benefits to doing more.
Core ideas in the draft blueprint include greater integration and “alignment” of resources across the mental health, general health and social sectors to create “one system multi-funded”. Also to organise mental health roles and teams so everyone, including nurses, is operating at the “top of their scope”.
Another core idea is the development of a fast access “no wait” system to meet mental health needs earlier so clients need less intensive support and can be restored back to home quicker. In support of that there needed to be increased support for consumer and families to promote self-care and increased resilience. Plus the offering of “closer to home responses in less intensive settings” to reduce pressure on specialist acute mental health resources.
The document also talks about “evolving” how funding is organised from the current “complex” model of a mix of population-based funding formula (PBFF) funding, annual Blueprint funding increments and ring-fence funding for specialist services.
“The sector has indicated that this is increasingly generating funding and resource conflicts constraining the ability of the system to adapt and innovate to the needs of people and future challenges,” says the document.
It proposes a “modified approach’ to allow “greater flexibility” including over time modifying the ring-fence to better align mental health and addiction needs and PBFF. Also to increase the accuracy and reliability of future PBFF funding.
The Blueprint also proposes to introduce more output and outcome focused performance indicators for the sector and nationally consistent guidelines for resource allocation.
Submissions close on March 9. The full document can be found at www.mhc.govt.nz
Blueprint II is due to be completed in May 2012 and will be the last major piece of work by the Mental Health Commission before it is merged into the Office of the Health and Disability Commissioner in July this year.
