The Ministry of Health has published the 2023-24 Mental Health and Addiction Services Regulatory Report.
The report presents data about the use of compulsory assessment and treatment in New Zealand and helps us to understand the quality of compulsory care that our mental health, intellectual disability, and addiction services provide.
The Ministry plays an important role in monitoring these services to ensure that people undergoing compulsory assessment, care and treatment are receiving high-quality care.
The report also helps to identify where changes and improvements may be needed to ensure people receive appropriate care.
The 2023/24 report shows that the demand for mental health, intellectual disability, and addiction services continues to be high. This places increased pressure on the mental health workforce and the Ministry is continuing to work closely with Health New Zealand to support sustainable solutions to this.
The rates of compulsory assessment and treatment were similar in 2023/24 compared with previous years.
The total number of people who have been secluded and the total hours people spend in seclusion decreased from 2022/23. However, it’s important to note that these numbers will fluctuate from year to year depending on individual circumstances.
The Ministry remains committed to working with Health New Zealand and the Health Quality & Safety Commission to reduce seclusion over time and eventually eliminate it.
Other key findings include:
- 11,495 people (6.5% of specialist mental health and addiction service users) were subject to the Mental Health Act
- out of all people using specialist mental health and addiction services, 93.5% engaged voluntarily rather than under compulsion
- most people subject to compulsory treatment are based in the community (approximately 75% in 2023/24)
- about 5,883 people were subject to either compulsory assessment or compulsory treatment under the Mental Health Act on the last day of the 2023/24 year
- people aged 25–34 years were the most likely to be subject to compulsory treatment.
