The business case for a new mental health inpatient unit in Tauranga has yet to be approved - more than three years after funding was allocated to build it.

The news comes after the release of an October report to Finance Minister Grant Robertson on the status of the project. The report called for further planning and development before moving forward.

The report also recommended the new Tauranga facility be considered together with a new mental health inpatient unit at Whakatāne Hospital.

Both projects were given funding after the Government announced a record $200 million in extra money for new and existing mental health and addiction facilities in May 2019.

The original funding from the Ministry of Health was $30m for Tauranga and $15m for Whakatāne. But according to the report, a further $27m could be needed to pay for the Whakatāne build.

In November, a patient raised concerns after finding black mould in a seclusion room at Tauranga Hospital’s mental health unit. Photo / Supplied

Te Whatu Ora chief infrastructure and investment officer Jeremy Holman said the review and report for the finance minister were undertaken shortly after health system reforms in July 2022.

“During the period in which the review took place the infrastructure and investment group within Te Whatu Ora was progressing the two Bay of Plenty business cases simultaneously.”

However, after the review was completed, new seismic information about the Whakatāne site came in.

 “As such the Whakatāne business case is being revisited to provide viable options for the replacement facility,” Holman said.

Holman said Te Whatu Ora expected to submit the Whakatāne business case to government ministers later this year.

“The business case for the redevelopment of the Tauranga facility was progressed separately to the business case for the Whakatāne facility and has since been provided to joint ministers for consideration.”

Bay of Plenty District Health Board information obtained by the Bay of Plenty Times under the Official Information Act in June 2022 showed that together, the board’s three mental health units totalled 394 days operating over capacity in the year to May 9, 2022.

The highest occupancy rate for Tauranga’s other unit was 13 patients and it is funded for 10 beds. The Whakatāne unit’s highest occupancy rate was 14 patients and it is funded for 10 beds.

In November, a patient raised concerns after finding black mould in a seclusion room at Tauranga Hospital’s mental health unit while a nurses’ union said it was inappropriate for people experiencing mental illness to be exposed to anything detrimental to their physical health.

New Zealand Psychological Society executive director Veronica Pitt said the delays were “extremely disappointing”.

“Facilities in this region particularly, in addition to others, require immediate upgrades but are constantly left out of the prioritisation process for hospital planning and building.”

In her view: “Ultimately, this means that patients are being treated in substandard conditions. Urgent attention and focus on prioritising these buildings is required to meet the increasing mental health demands across the nation at present.”

Pitt said the growing demand for mental healthcare needs in communities required an “urgent” shift in focus.

“Moreover, a strong focus needs to be had on improving workforce capacity as well as building adequate facilities to meet increasing demands.”

National Party Bay of Plenty MP Todd Muller. Photo / George Novak

In Parliament last week, Bay of Plenty MP Todd Muller spoke of the “appalling delivery of mental health services in Tauranga” as a source of “immense regret”.

“I accept that this is an issue that goes beyond a single term and beyond a single government,” Muller said during a special debate on local issues.

Muller said, in his speech, that he had parents ringing his office “at their wits’ end” and then ringing again to say that “help didn’t come in time”.

“This is a reality my office has experienced,” Muller said.

Muller said he had been pleased with the Government’s announcement of an unprecedented $1.9 billion to be spent on mental health care in 2019.

“It’s now 2023. And Tauranga still does not have any additional facilities for people with acute mental health needs.”

Muller told the Bay of Plenty Times the issue of mental healthcare in the region made him emotional.

“There are some issues that should be above politics and this is one of them,” Muller said.

“The people of Tauranga need more mental health support. We should be able to give it to them.”

Muller said it was a “debacle” that the project was still at the business case stage more than three years after the funding was allocated.

“We have nothing to show for it,” Muller said.

Jeremy Holman, of Te Whatu Ora, said considering the Tauranga and Whakatāne business cases together last year allowed decision-makers to consider the provision of services across the entire district, rather than just in the area surrounding each location.

“Estimated timelines and budgets are assigned following the approval of business cases,” Holman said.

“These will be available when and if each business case is approved.”