But health officials are asking the minister to be careful with the data, and an opposition MP says it does not reflect the feeling of staff.
Mr Doocey has set specific targets for mental health delivery, including faster access to primary mental health and addiction services, faster access to specialist mental health and addiction services and shorter mental-health related stays in the emergency department.
The Southern district has improved its performance in all three targets, and was successful in faster access to primary mental health and addiction services (91.6%) and shorter mental health and addiction-related stays in EDs (86%), Health New Zealand Te Whatu Ora’s most recent quarterly data says.
The Southern district was also a shade under the target for access to specialist mental healthcare (78%).
Mr Doocey said this was a "marked improvement" from two quarters ago, where Southern was languishing near the bottom of the table.
"This government believes when someone is making the brave step of reaching out for help whether it’s you, your child, a friend or family member, we are committed to ensuring we have the right support in place to answer that call, no matter where you are in New Zealand.
"It is promising to see the third quarter target data show Southern are exceeding two out of three access targets. I have recently been in the Southern region where I met some of our hard-working frontline workers who are on the ground making a real difference in helping those in the region have access to faster mental health support."
However, officials have also advised there were still some caveats around the data — particularly in ED presentations, where it "does not account for the complexities of acute presentations, for example people presenting with combinations of physical and mental symptoms, or presentations where the actual problem is not immediately obvious" and "does not reliably identify any addiction-related events".
A late January briefing paper, released under the Official Information Act, urged Mr Doocey to be cautious when looking at the quarterly results.
"This is the first attempt at this level of reporting on data against the mental health and addiction targets.
"Unlike the wider health system targets, the datasets and reporting processes are new and the infrastructure supporting the process is evolving. It is critical to appreciate the preliminary nature of the data as a picture of performance against the mental health addiction targets at this juncture of the implementation and design."
Labour MP for Taieri Ingrid Leary said the results did not reflect what she was hearing from frontline workers, who were still under-resourced and stretched.
Many young people were waiting several months for mental health assistance, she said.
"The caveats in the document might explain the chasm between the reality on the ground and the supposedly good results.
"When you have so many waiting for mental healthcare, the results aren’t worth the paper they’re printed on."
Meanwhile, Mr Doocey said yesterday he was pressing ahead with the creation of a Digital Mental Health Hub, which was aimed at improving access to mental health services.
"A key component of the hub will be improving digital navigation to connect people with existing mental health services. Unfortunately, many people are unaware of the services already available to them and these navigation systems could be a game changer.
"The road map is currently in development, and I am hoping to have more to say over the coming months."
