59930 (2024). Ingrid Leary to the Minister for Mental Health

59930 (2024). Ingrid Leary to the Minister for Mental Health: Does the Minister agree with Rural Women New Zealand chair Sandra Matthews, who is calling for more mental health support for rural communities, that there is a wide range of issues at play in rural communities at the moment ranging from communities experiencing significant job losses from the closure or scaling back of major local employers, to public sector job losses in the regions; if so, what, if anything, will he do to address this?

Hon Matt Doocey: I am advised that rural communities can access a range of mental health and addiction services, and increasing that access will help improve mental health outcomes in rural areas. The focus on increasing this access is reflected in a range of initiatives, including: • The Access and Choice programme is increasing the availability of mental health and wellbeing support for rural communities. As of 30 April 2024, Health New Zealand has implemented Integrated Primary Mental Health and Addiction Services in 576 general practices across the country, including in smaller, rural communities. These services are available from the far north to Bluff. There are also youth, kaupapa Māori, and Pacific Access and Choice services available to people in rural communities. • HNZ launched a rural wellbeing support landing page in mid-2023 as part of the Access and Choice website (www.wellbeingsupport.health.nz) to make it easier for rural communities to find available supports in their locations. • Digital and telehealth support is also available to rural communities, including Youthline, 1737 mental health helpline, and digital tools including Groov for adults and Headstrong for young people.