Boost for mental health acute and respite care

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People experiencing acute mental distress will have greater access to support in a residential environment in Dunedin from September.

A five-bed home is to open not far from Dunedin Hospital, providing 24-hour support.

The boost in capacity for emergency and planned mental health respite care is through an expanded service contract between the Southern District Health Board and community service provider Pact.

SDHB mental health and addictions executive director Toni Gutschlag said the partnership would provide people in crisis with community-based support, rather than hospitalisation.

"Dunedin has historically had a one-bed unit available for emergency respite care, so this capacity expansion is addressing a longstanding service gap," Ms Gutschlag said.

It would be run by Pact, which has a similar facility in Lower Hutt.

"Having a dedicated team of trained mental health support workers and a larger facility with comfortable, home-like surroundings will allow us to provide earlier intervention and more focused care for people in the Dunedin region," Ms Gutschlag said.

Families would have space to see their loved ones and could potentially stay overnight on site.

The new facility would increase capacity from 365 bed nights to 1825 bed nights a year, freeing up hospital beds and staff, although inpatient hospital services would continue to be available.

Pact general manager Thomas Cardy said the provider would work with the health board to ensure people received the right support when they needed it.

"The service will be staffed by a mix of highly skilled clinicians and support workers who have knowledge and experience working with people experiencing a mental health crisis."

Work is also getting under way to set up a crisis support service at Queenstown Lakes.

The two programmes reflect broader reform to bring mental health and wellbeing care closer to home and to improve access.