Submissions

To: Ministry of Health
Date: November 2024

Purpose

The submission’s primary purpose is to ensure that the plan directly addresses the disproportionately high rates of mental distress and suicidal ideation experienced by disabled people in New Zealand. The submission advocates for targeted, accessible, and community-based support, emphasizing that disabled people must be explicitly identified as a priority population for funding and co-designed services. By providing specific recommendations, DPA seeks to embed a human rights and disability-inclusive approach into suicide prevention efforts, aligning with the Health of Disabled People Strategy 2023.

Summary of DPA submission

DPA highlights that disabled people experience significantly higher levels of mental distress and suicidal thoughts compared to non-disabled individuals; for instance, nearly 1 in 10 New Zealand adults (9.6%) experienced psychological distress in 2020/21, but this figure rises to 27.3% for disabled adults. Furthermore, almost 1 in 2 young disabled people reported suicidal thoughts, compared to 1 in 4 young people overall in 2021. These statistics underscore the urgent need for the new plan to be highly responsive to the unique needs of disabled people, who face numerous barriers to participation in society which all contribute to mental distress.

DPA generally supports the proposed actions for both health and cross-government agencies, but with the crucial proviso that these actions explicitly recognize and address the impact of suicide on disabled people and their families/whānau. Specifically, DPA recommends that when the suicide prevention community fund is established, disabled people are identified as one of the population groups most impacted by suicide and thus prioritized for funding. DPA also advocates for prevention and early intervention programs to be accessible to disabled people and D/deaf people through formats like New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) and other accessible materials.

To enhance safety and inclusivity, DPA recommends that any new inpatient mental health and addiction facilities be built to Universal Design (UD) standards. Furthermore, DPA stresses the importance of actively recruiting disabled people and those with lived experience of mental distress into the suicide prevention and postvention workforce. Any national competency-based frameworks for workforces and guidance for health professionals on assessing suicidal individuals should include disability perspectives. DPA also notes that recent policy changes, such as cuts to disability support services and the introduction of "traffic light settings" for beneficiaries, are reportedly causing significant anxiety and distress, which could undermine suicide prevention efforts.

A key and consistent recommendation from DPA is that disabled people must be involved as full co-design partners in developing all policies, programmes, and resources related to suicide prevention and subvention.

Finally, DPA recommends that government acknowledge and provide appropriately resourced wraparound care and support for survivors of abuse in state care, recognizing the high levels of mental distress and suicidal ideation experienced by this group, as extensively covered in the Royal Commission into Abuse in Care's Whanaketia report.

Key Recommendation:

That government agencies explicitly recognize disabled people as a high-priority population group for targeted funding and accessible service provisionacross all relevant sectors, ensuring their active involvement in co-design and implementation processes.

Supporting Statement 1:

Disabled people face disproportionately higher rates of mental distress and suicidal ideation, with nearly 1 in 2 young disabled people reporting suicidal thoughts, necessitating tailored and accessible support.

Supporting Statement 2:

Systemic barriers, compounded by recent funding cuts to disability support services and welfare policy changes, are exacerbating anxiety and distress among disabled people, underscoring the urgent need for a disability-inclusive approach in all suicide prevention efforts.