Latest news with #RauarohaSegarHouse
RNZ News
5 days ago
- Health
- RNZ News
Auckland mental health patient worried about future after Segar House closes
Segar House. Photo: Google Maps Street View A patient at an Auckland mental health programme that's closing its doors next month says she's feeling anxious about her uncertain future. Rauaroha Segar House , a publicly funded intensive service for people who have long-standing or chronic problems, ceases on 19 September. Heloise Cantin-Gilmore said her past four months on the programme were life-changing and there were no other realistic treatment options available to her. News of the closure, delivered in mid-July, hit hard. "The effect this is having on me is having a great sense of anxiety, fear, grief, loss - mostly around whether I'm going to be alone again, essentially, dealing with my mental health issues," she said. "There's just a great sense of loss happening at Segar House." There are nine patients and eight staff working at the inner-city service, which involves group and individual therapy for people who haven't worked out in other programmes. Health NZ said patient numbers are too low and clinicians would be better utilised elsewhere. There are no other similar programmes in the North Island and Cantin-Gilmore said patients were told they could return to other community mental health services, or look further afield where there were similar programmes. "They said the other option was that we move to Dunedin, which isn't really a true option for any of us," she said. "All of our livelihoods are here. Most of us have jobs. Our families are here. To offer to move to Dunedin as a substitute for a service we're getting here in Auckland is just kind of ridiculous, frankly." She didn't know where she'd go next. "When they [Health NZ] told us that it was closing, they said that they would be in contact with us to arrange a meeting time with us, individually, to come up with some sort of plan about whether we could continue in the community mental health services or whether we'd go a different route," she said. "None of us have heard from them since." Cantin-Gilmore said there was an enormous sense of sadness. "Not only is there grief for me losing access to the programme, there's grief for potential future patients who could have access the programme, but also the clinicians themselves," Cantin-Gilmore said. "They're losing their jobs. They're losing their community." Her father, Gus Gilmore, said the clinical team was supportive, but the uncertainty was taking a toll on his daughter. "It's been terrible. Heloise was really improving since she started the programme four months ago," he said. "We hadn't seen that type of improvement in her general and mental health. Since [the closure was confirmed] she has gone backwards." Health NZ group director of operations for Auckland Dr Michael Shepherd said individual transition plans for patients were getting worked through. "Patients will be able to access individual therapy, multi-disciplinary team reviews, key worker support and group work," Shepherd said. "There will be a different group of professionals involved in their care and differences in the types of group therapy available. The location for their individual and group therapy will change." Health NZ was working with staff in redeployment options. Labour's mental health spokeswoman Ingrid Leary is critical of government ministers for not intervening to stop the closure. She said it was a political decision as officials looked to save money. "This is specialised treatment and from the people I've spoken to, the families and the patients, they cannot access the level of care they desperately need and they're very worried about that." Minister for mental health Matt Doocey said the closure decision was made by Health NZ. He said he spoke to its chief executive Dale Bramley and had assurance each patient would have a transition plan and their needs would continue to be met. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
5 days ago
- Health
- RNZ News
Patient at closing Auckland mental health programme anxious about future
Auckland Region about 1 hour ago A patient at an Auckland mental health programme that will close its doors next month says she's feeling anxious about the future. Rauaroha Segar House, a publicly funded intensive service for people who have long-standing or chronic problems, stops its services on September the 19th. Heloise Cantin-Gilmore told Checkpoint her time there's been life-changing and there are no other realistic treatment options available to her. Jimmy Ellingham reports.
RNZ News
27-06-2025
- Health
- RNZ News
Health NZ planned to vacate Segar House before public consultation, emails reveal
Ingrid Leary Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone Health New Zealand intended to vacate at the end of January a central Auckland building occupied by a mental health service facing closure, correspondence shows. Labour's mental health spokeswoman, Ingrid Leary, said this shows officials originally intended to axe the service last year, but Health NZ said this isn't the case. It has proposed closing Rauaroha Segar House , a publicly funded intensive programme for people with long-standing or chronic mental health problems. Segar House. Photo: Google Maps Street View It's consulting on the proposal now , as staff rally to keep a service they and many patients say is unique. The programme at Segar House mixes individual therapy with group work and it runs from a building on Khyber Pass Road. Correspondence obtained from Health NZ by Leary shows officials gave the building owner formal notice on 16 December of its intention to vacate the building by 31 January. Another email showed the lease was previously slated to run out on 31 December. There is no mention in the correspondence of possible alternative venues for the programme. By 20 December, Health NZ's position had changed. "I would like to start by firstly apologising profusely for what I am about to write," Health NZ's real estate and space manager for its northern region, Harshna Mistry, wrote to a representative of the building owner. "It is wildly unusual for us to be this indecisive and I can only hope you can be understanding given the current financial and organisational challenges we as an organisation face. "My seniors have contacted me today to request if we can actually remain in the Khyber Pass property until 1 June 2025. It seems the service are not as prepared to vacate as we would have hoped. "I am truly sorry for the flip-flopping. I appreciate this is frustrating for you (I share this sentiment)." Health NZ has confirmed to RNZ that the lease for the building now runs until 30 September, having since been extended again. Leary said the emails she obtained were revealing. "It's very clear from the official documents that the plan was to shut down Segar House before the end of last year or at the end of January at the latest and there was no intention or open-mindedness about letting the service continue," she said. "It's very clear from the documents that the cost of the lease was a significant factor in their thinking." Health NZ denies this. RNZ has asked Health NZ if it intended to shut the service by January and, if not, what efforts it had made last year to search for an alternative venue for it. Its group director of operations for Te Toka Tumai Auckland Michael Shepherd said lease renewal wasn't a factor in its decision making. "We had not made any decisions about the service or committed to a change process last year," he said. "We were considering the range of ways we deliver our specialist mental health services in order to provide the best healthcare to our community, including the best value for taxpayer funding. "We therefore extended the lease for six months to allow for further work to occur. But no decisions had been made. "We assessed some other options, including internal and external facilities, to confirm we had suitable options to be able to continue the service. These did not need to be progressed because we were able to extend the lease." Staff were told about the closure proposal in early April, according to a document seen by RNZ. Leary said if there was a move to close the service earlier and staff weren't told then that showed bad faith when entering the present round of consultation. The tone of the emails was unusual and it showed the chaos caused by cuts to the health budget, she said. Just days before confirming the lease flip-flop, Mistry wrote to the building representative that extending the lease would be unlikely. "As you are aware Te Whatu Ora is in a significant period of flux at the moment and I apologise for the impact this is having on our external partners like yourselves. "I have discussed the details of the lease with my superiors. The appetite to absorb the necessary legal costs and go through the process of extending for a further six months is not something the organisation has funding for at this time." An internal email between Health NZ officials in March this year speaks of further extensions to the lease, which have since happened. "Recognising the lease and utilities cost approximately $165,000 per annum, we need to be confident the additional cost is essential," it said. Earlier this week Shepherd said Health NZ was on 18 June informed the Khyber Pass building was being sold. "A prospective buyer was scheduled to inspect the property on the same day. We informed the Rauaroha Segar House team about this on Wednesday morning [last week] by email." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
27-05-2025
- Health
- RNZ News
Health NZ wants to close a mental health facility, staff say more people need it
Photo: 123RF Warning: This story mentions suicide. Staff at an Auckland mental health facility are rallying to save what they say is a vital service for people who otherwise fall through the cracks. Health New Zealand is proposing to close Rauaroha Segar House, a publicly funded intensive programme for people with long-standing or chronic mental health problems. The proposal says not enough people are treated there and staff will be better deployed elsewhere, but staff say it can be saved. RNZ has spoken to a clinician at Segar, who said the central city service must remain. "Our main concern is that Segar House is a unique service. It's actually one-of-a-kind in the North Island," they said. "It treats people with chronic suicidality and trauma. It's offering gold-standard treatment for people who couldn't get proper treatment in the community mental health service." The clinician requested anonymity because they feared speaking out following a recent directive from Health NZ reminding staff not to talk publicly. The directive said Health NZ's communications team could respond to media in a timely, accurate and consistent manner, while representing the organisation in a positive manner. Despite that, the clinician said the public had a right to know what it stood to lose. "It works. The clients that are coming to Segar House are probably clients who are bouncing between the urgent services [or have] longer admissions to the hospital inpatient units. "Most of our clients, when they graduate the programme they don't require any more mental health service inputs." The intensive programme is a mixture of individual and group sessions, and for the people attending it's like a full-time job. After a change in 2019 tightened the criteria of who could enter the programme, it was now for people who haven't found a programme that worked elsewhere. Staff said that's limited the numbers of people the programme could see and Health NZ cited low numbers - there were about 10 people at any given time - as one of the reasons behind the proposal to close. But the clinician said that could change. "We're calling for an immediate halt to the disestablishment proposal and for a revitalisation plan that will help us be responsive to the clients and the service's need. "I do think we should increase the number of clients that are being treated at Segar House." The staff proposal sent to Health NZ this week has called for a loosening of the programme's entry criteria and said it could treat people drawn from a bigger area. It was thought a decision on the proposal to close could be made as soon as Thursday - and Health NZ's original proposal said it would happen this week - but mental health minister Matt Doocey has confirmed it now won't be that soon. Kyle MacDonald, a psychotherapist who previously worked at Segar House, said closing it would mean more costs later. "From the moment I first read the proposal I was both shocked and upset because I know not only how vital a service Segar House is, but also how high risk the clients they serve are. "The reality is if we lose Segar House as a service there will not be a replacement service for these extremely high-risk, chronically suicidal patients who do very very well under this treatment." The service was operating on about half its full staff capacity of seven full-time equivalent positions, but was fully supporting its clients, he said. "People will be there four or five days a week. They will attend three or four groups a week. Those will be skills groups, learning particular behavioural skills... around regulating your emotions and dealing with high levels of distress. "It also includes things like mindfulness groups, and also trauma-focused group therapy, where people learn to manage and process past traumatic experiences." Health NZ group director of operations for Auckland Michael Shepherd said the proposal to close Segar House wouldn't reduce the number of frontline mental health staff, and would instead mean their expertise was available to more people when they're redeployed. It had very low numbers of people access the programme and in other districts they would be treated in other individual and group-based programmes, which was proposed here. "The consultation process is still under way and no decision as to the proposal has been made," Shepherd said. "While the consultation process is occurring people will continue to receive the same service and support that they are currently receiving." Labour spokeswoman for mental health Ingrid Leary said it felt like a decision had already been made to close the facility. "The Minister for Mental Health, Matt Doocey, needs to show some leadership to pause the closure and get some proper independent advice before he rushes to make yet another cut, which will actually have serious safety and financial consequences." Staff from Segar House could end up in the private sector, where pay and conditions were better, and the service should stay open while it was properly reviewed, she said. Doocey said he'd sought and received assurance from Health NZ it would take as long as needed to carefully consider feedback, and a decision was some time away. "It would not meet my expectations for a decision to be made this week, days after consultation has closed," he said. "As I said previously at the time this was announced, I expect to be briefed on the outcome of the consultation. "I would not want to get ahead of having the opportunity to consider the feedback and advice from officials, therefore I have nothing further to add at this stage." Segar House's lease agreement on its Khyber Pass Road property runs out at the end of June.
RNZ News
27-05-2025
- Health
- RNZ News
Health NZ wants to close this mental health facility, staff say more people need it
Photo: 123RF Warning: This story mentions suicide. Staff at an Auckland mental health facility are rallying to save what they say is a vital service for people who otherwise fall through the cracks. Health New Zealand is proposing to close Rauaroha Segar House, a publicly funded intensive programme for people with long-standing or chronic mental health problems. The proposal says not enough people are treated there and staff will be better deployed elsewhere, but staff say it can be saved. RNZ has spoken to a clinician at Segar, who said the central city service must remain. "Our main concern is that Segar House is a unique service. It's actually one-of-a-kind in the North Island," they said. "It treats people with chronic suicidality and trauma. It's offering gold-standard treatment for people who couldn't get proper treatment in the community mental health service." The clinician requested anonymity because they feared speaking out following a recent directive from Health NZ reminding staff not to talk publicly. The directive said Health NZ's communications team could respond to media in a timely, accurate and consistent manner, while representing the organisation in a positive manner. Despite that, the clinician said the public had a right to know what it stood to lose. "It works. The clients that are coming to Segar House are probably clients who are bouncing between the urgent services [or have] longer admissions to the hospital inpatient units. "Most of our clients, when they graduate the programme they don't require any more mental health service inputs." The intensive programme is a mixture of individual and group sessions, and for the people attending it's like a full-time job. After a change in 2019 tightened the criteria of who could enter the programme, it was now for people who haven't found a programme that worked elsewhere. Staff said that's limited the numbers of people the programme could see and Health NZ cited low numbers - there were about 10 people at any given time - as one of the reasons behind the proposal to close. But the clinician said that could change. "We're calling for an immediate halt to the disestablishment proposal and for a revitalisation plan that will help us be responsive to the clients and the service's need. "I do think we should increase the number of clients that are being treated at Segar House." The staff proposal sent to Health NZ this week has called for a loosening of the programme's entry criteria and said it could treat people drawn from a bigger area. It was thought a decision on the proposal to close could be made as soon as Thursday - and Health NZ's original proposal said it would happen this week - but mental health minister Matt Doocey has confirmed it now won't be that soon. Kyle MacDonald, a psychotherapist who previously worked at Segar House, said closing it would mean more costs later. "From the moment I first read the proposal I was both shocked and upset because I know not only how vital a service Segar House is, but also how high risk the clients they serve are. "The reality is if we lose Segar House as a service there will not be a replacement service for these extremely high-risk, chronically suicidal patients who do very very well under this treatment." The service was operating on about half its full staff capacity of seven full-time equivalent positions, but was fully supporting its clients, he said. "People will be there four or five days a week. They will attend three or four groups a week. Those will be skills groups, learning particular behavioural skills... around regulating your emotions and dealing with high levels of distress. "It also includes things like mindfulness groups, and also trauma-focused group therapy, where people learn to manage and process past traumatic experiences." Health NZ group director of operations for Auckland Michael Shepherd said the proposal to close Segar House wouldn't reduce the number of frontline mental health staff, and would instead mean their expertise was available to more people when they're redeployed. It had very low numbers of people access the programme and in other districts they would be treated in other individual and group-based programmes, which was proposed here. "The consultation process is still under way and no decision as to the proposal has been made," Shepherd said. "While the consultation process is occurring people will continue to receive the same service and support that they are currently receiving." Labour spokeswoman for mental health Ingrid Leary said it felt like a decision had already been made to close the facility. "The Minister for Mental Health, Matt Doocey, needs to show some leadership to pause the closure and get some proper independent advice before he rushes to make yet another cut, which will actually have serious safety and financial consequences." Staff from Segar House could end up in the private sector, where pay and conditions were better, and the service should stay open while it was properly reviewed, she said. Doocey said he'd sought and received assurance from Health NZ it would take as long as needed to carefully consider feedback, and a decision was some time away. "It would not meet my expectations for a decision to be made this week, days after consultation has closed," he said. "As I said previously at the time this was announced, I expect to be briefed on the outcome of the consultation. "I would not want to get ahead of having the opportunity to consider the feedback and advice from officials, therefore I have nothing further to add at this stage." Segar House's lease agreement on its Khyber Pass Road property runs out at the end of June.
