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Mental Health and Addiction: Service Use web tool

This web tool presents a summary of the specialist secondary inpatient and community mental health and addiction services provided in Aotearoa New Zealand.
View the web tool

About the Mental Health and Addiction: Service Use web tool

The Mental Health and Addiction: Service Use web tool presents data related to specialist inpatient and community mental health and addiction services provided in Aotearoa New Zealand.

The information included in this tool was provided by the former district health boards (DHBs) and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) funded by Te Whatu Ora (and prior to 1 July 2022, the Ministry of Health). 

Specifically, we include demographic and geographic information, client referral pathways, the types of services provided, supplementary consumer records, and diagnosis information.

The web tool contains data for the financial years from 1 July 2013 to 30 June 2022 and it replaces the Mental Health and Addiction: Service Use publication series that consisted of spreadsheets released annually.

The web tool allows you to select areas of interest, and download the related data.

The tables do not include information on:

  • the provision of primary mental health care, such as care provided by general practitioners
  • mental health services funded by other government departments, for example funded by the Ministry of Social Development
  • problem gambling
  • people with a mental health condition who do not access services.

Data sources

Data is sourced from the Programme for the Integration of Mental Health Data (PRIMHD). PRIMHD contains data about Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora-funded mental health and addiction service activity and outcomes. 

The data is collected from the former district health board regions (DHBs) and non-governmental organisations (NGOs).

PRIMHD data is used to report on what services are being provided, who is providing the services, and what outcomes are being achieved for health consumers across New Zealand's mental health sector.

These reports enable better-quality service planning and decision making by mental health and addiction service providers, at local, regional and national levels.

Alternative data sources

Mental health and addiction service use data was previously published in static tables.

As part of the development of the web tool, a review of content was conducted and as a result some changes were made to the information published. These changes were made for the data released from 2022.

Data is now available on supplementary consumer records, including accommodation, employment and education, and also whether or not a wellness plan is in place.

Some data published in previous editions of the Mental Health and Addiction: Service Use tables are no longer in the web tool because they are published elsewhere.

This includes:

  • Data on clients with a Mental Health Act or Substance Addiction Act legal status, and seclusion and electroconvulsive therapy events, reported by the Office of the Director of Mental Health and Addiction Services, ODMHAS.

  • Health of the Nation Outcome Scores, reported by Te Pou.

All of the data included in the previous version of the Mental Health and Addiction: Service Use data tables is available on request by contacting data-enquiries@health.govt.nz

Disclaimer

This web tool presents data to the latest year for which data is available for publication. 

We have quality checked the collection, extraction, and reporting of the data presented here. However, errors can occur. 

Contact the data services team at Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora by emailing data-enquiries@health.govt.nz if you have any concerns regarding any of the data or analyses presented here. 

We make no warranty, expressed or implied, nor assume any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, correctness or use of the information or data in this tool.

Key findings

Demographics

  • In 2021/22, a total of 175,058 clients accessed mental health and addiction services. Of these, 86,001 (49.1%) were male, and 89,057 (50.9%) were female. 
  • In 2021/22, of the ethnic groups reported, Māori were the most likely to access mental health and addiction services, with 5695.0 clients accessing services for every 100,000 Māori population; while Asian clients were the least likely to access services, with 1284.8 clients accessing services for every 100,000 Asian population. (These rates have been age standardised to the World Health Organisation's standard world population). 
  • In 2021/22, there were 139,583 clients accessing services provided by DHBs and 73,479 clients accessing services provided by NGOs. Some of these clients accessed services provided by both DHBs and NGOs. 
  • In 2021/22, the majority of clients (135,459 or 77%) were seen face to face. The remaining 23% received services that involved care co-ordination contacts, contact with family/whānau, written correspondence, telephone calls and text messages, or social media contacts/e-therapy. Some clients received both face-to-face and non-face-to-face services. 
  • The rate of Māori clients accessing services provided by DHBs decreased from 4902 per 100,000 population in 2013/14 to 4119.3 in 2021/22 (a change of 16%). 
  • The rate of Pacific clients accessing services provided by DHBs decreased from 2661.4 per 100,000 population in 2013/14 to 2216.5 in 2021/22 (a change of 17%).  
  • The rate of Asian clients accessing services provided by DHBs increased from 951.5 per 100,000 population in 2013/14 to 1111.7 in 2021/22 (a change of 17%).  
  • The rate of European or Other clients accessing services provided by DHBs increased from 3180.3 per 100,000 population in 2013/14 to 3292.5 in 2021/22 (a change of 4%). 
  • In 2021/22, people living in the most deprived (quintile 5) areas were 1.6 times more likely to access mental health and addiction services than people living in the least deprived (quintile 1) areas (5081 and 3080.9 per 100,000 population, respectively, age standardised to the World Health Organisation's standard world population).  

Services provided 

  • The most common type of team providing services to DHB clients was community teams, who provided services to 78% of clients accessing services provided by DHBs.
  • The next most common team type was alcohol and drug teams, who provided services to 17% of DHB clients.
  • For NGOs, the most common team type was community teams, who provided services to 68% of clients accessing services provided by NGOs.
  • the next most common team type was alcohol and drug teams, who provided services to 28% of NGO clients.  

Activity type

  • The most common type of activity provided by DHBs in 2021/22 was 'individual treatment attendances: family/whanau not present'. This activity type accounted for 45% of all DHB services provided.
  • The most common type of activity provided by NGOs in 2021/22 was 'community support contacts', which accounted for 27% of all NGO services provided.  

Activity setting

The two most common settings in which contacts took place were 'telephone' and 'onsite'. Together, they accounted for 54% of all contacts in 2021/22.  

Team details 

  • For DHBs in 2021/22, inpatient teams provided the majority of bednights (68% of all DHB bednights). For NGOs, residential/accommodation teams provided the majority of bednights (75% of all NGO bednights). 
  • The most common type of activity provided by community teams in 2021/22 was 'individual treatment attendances: family/whanau not present' which accounted for 37% of all services provided by community teams. 
  • The most common type of activity provided by alcohol and drug teams in 2021/22 was 'individual treatment attendances: family/whanau not present' which accounted for 38% of all services provided by alcohol and drug teams. 
  • The most common type of activity provided by child and youth teams in 2021/22 was 'individual treatment attendances: family/whanau not present' which accounted for 27% of all services provided by child and youth teams. 
  • The most common type of activity provided by forensic teams in 2021/22 was 'medium secure inpatient occupied bed nights' which accounted for 34% of all services provided by forensic teams. 
  • The most common type of activity provided by inpatient teams in 2021/22 was 'mental health acute inpatient or equivalent occupied bed nights' which accounted for 51% of all services provided by inpatient teams. 
  • The most common type of activity provided by Kaupapa Māori teams in 2021/22 was 'individual treatment attendances: family/whanau not present' which accounted for 25% of all services provided by Kaupapa Māori teams.  

Referrals 

  • Referrals to mental health and addiction teams were most likely to come from 'self or relative referral' (30%), or 'general practitioner' (17%). 
  • Discharges from mental health and addiction teams were most likely to be to 'no further referral' (27%), or 'general practitioner' (24%).  

Long-term clients

As at the end of the 2021/22 financial year, there were 33,282 clients that accessed mental health and addiction services for one year or more. Out of these clients, 21,042 accessed services for two years or more. 

Supplementary consumer records 

  • 64% of clients with a supplementary consumer record in 2021/22 had a wellness plan. 
  • 16% of clients with a supplementary consumer record in 2021/22 were in paid full-time employment; 11% were in paid part-time employment; and 74% were not in paid employment. 
  • 28% of clients with a supplementary consumer record in 2021/22 were participating in education or training provided by an education organisation that is accredited, registered or recognised by NZQA. 
  • 84% of clients with a supplementary consumer record in 2021/22 lived independently; 11% were in supported living; and 4% were homeless.