Labour is failing New Zealanders struggling with mental illness, National’s Mental Health spokesperson Matt Doocey says.

“This isn’t a matter of the Government failing in just one area of mental health management and services. There are failures and incompetency across the board.

“Wait times have ballooned under Labour which I only was able to discover after investigating individual DHB datasets. Children and adolescents are spending far too much time in a queue to see clinicians and get the help that they need.

“Despite making several announcements about their investment in mental health, the Government have severely underspent on its promises and in some cases has spent not a single dollar on announced projects.

“It is clear that the government recognises that they are not achieving what they promised as we have seen them attempt to cover up negative statistics and bully advocate groups like the Mental Health Foundation.

“National take mental health very seriously and as a party we cannot understand why the Government is taking such a casual approach to improving health outcomes and spending the funds they have allocated.”

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