New Zealand gov't offers mental health service for quake-affected people

Residents of New Zealand's second city of Christchurch are being offered more mental health and counseling services after being shaken by thousands of earthquakes and aftershocks over the last 10 months.

The government on Thursday announced it would spend an extra 1.5 million NZ dollars (1.24 million U.S. dollars) on mental health services in the Canterbury region, including a new specialist earthquake response team to help the more vulnerable.

Associate Health Minister Dr Jonathan Coleman said the funding would also support extended general practitioner consultations and increased counseling support to help people cope with the on-going effects of earthquakes and aftershocks in the region.

"Many people in Canterbury are feeling exhausted and drained by the ongoing stress," Coleman said Thursday.

"More people are seeking help and we are monitoring the situation to ensure the Canterbury DHB (district health board) and mental health providers can continue to meet the demand."

Primary health-care providers were reporting increasing demand for mental health services, said Coleman.

GPs would provide extended consultations and brief mental health interventions, while the earthquake response team, which would liaise with GPs on mental health issues, would provide individual and group therapy for older people, children and their families.

Coleman said alcohol and drug services in Canterbury were ensuring people seeking help are being assessed quickly and provided with the appropriate support.

"We know how resilient Cantabrians are, but they've been through an incredibly tough time and help is there if they need it. "

Last week the government announced it was pledging a special payment of up to 16 million NZ dollars to the Canterbury District Health Board for earthquake-related costs in the 2010-2011 financial year.

Many homes have been uninhabitable since a 7.1-magnitude earthquake struck on Sept. 4 last year and the city had been rocked by more than 7,350 tremors as of June 23, including 28 ones of magnitude 5 or greater.

A major quake on Feb. 22 killed at least 181 people, and the two most recent major jolts occurred on June 13.

Editor: Xiong Tong

English.news.cn   2011-07-07 15:45:45 FeedbackPrintRSS
WELLINGTON, July 7 (Xinhua)