New Hawke’s Bay Facility Offers Home-Like Respite for Mental Health Service

In a significant boost to mental health services in Hawke’s Bay, Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey officially opened Waiorua, a new crisis respite service designed to offer an alternative and supportive space for adults navigating mental health and addiction challenges.

Situated near the region’s main hospital campus, the Waiorua service represents a progressive and collaborative step forward in New Zealand’s approach to mental health care. By providing a less clinical, more compassionate environment for individuals in distress, the service aims to reduce pressure on hospital emergency departments and inpatient mental health units.

A Purpose-Built Safe Space for Recovery

The new facility is housed in a repurposed building that has been carefully reconfigured to provide a welcoming, home-like environment. It is directly linked to the region’s acute mental health care system, ensuring that it complements rather than competes with existing services.

Minister Doocey emphasized the importance of such community-based facilities:

“It is fantastic to be in the Hawke’s Bay today to open this new service that will offer an alternative safe space to go for adults while they are in their time of need seeking support for mental health and addiction challenges.”

The key innovation of Waiorua lies in its model—six new unplanned crisis respite beds that allow individuals in crisis to receive short-term residential support without the need for hospitalization. These beds are part of a broader strategy to diversify and improve the ways individuals can access emergency mental health care.

Collaborative Cross-Agency Design

Waiorua was developed through a co-design process involving multiple agencies:

• Te Taiwhenua o Heretaunga, a respected iwi-based health and social services provider

• Health New Zealand / Te Whatu Ora, the national public health service

• New Zealand Police, who frequently act as first responders in mental health crises

• The Ministry of Social Development, which brings a broader wellbeing perspective to service planning

This multi-agency approach is aimed at delivering seamless, wraparound care for individuals whose needs cross traditional service boundaries. Minister Doocey praised the joined-up model:

“I am pleased to see this service was co-designed across agencies to better serve the people in the Hawke’s Bay by moving to a more joined-up approach.”

A More Humane Alternative to Hospitalization

For many experiencing acute mental distress, hospital settings—especially emergency departments—can feel overwhelming and impersonal. The Waiorua model seeks to shift this paradigm by providing a space that prioritizes dignity, rest, and support.

Respite beds offer immediate clinical oversight, but in a non-institutional setting. The goal is to help individuals stabilize and begin recovery in a calm, supportive environment. This can prevent further escalation and reduce the need for more intensive, and costly, inpatient admissions.

“Respite beds offer a welcoming place where people experiencing mental health difficulties can rest and recover in a home-like environment with clinical oversight and short-term residential support,” Doocey explained.

A Model for Future Mental Health Reform

The opening of Waiorua reflects a broader shift in New Zealand’s mental health strategy: from a hospital-centric model to a diversified network of care that includes community, cultural, and whānau-based supports. By situating mental health services closer to the communities they serve and integrating them with wider wellbeing systems, the Government hopes to improve both access and outcomes.

“This is a powerful example of what can be achieved when agencies work together with a shared purpose of improving the lives of New Zealanders,” said Doocey. “More people in the region will now have access to timely mental health and addiction support. At the end of the day, no matter where you are located, we want you to have access to the care you need and deserve.”

As New Zealand continues to grapple with increasing demand for mental health services, Waiorua may serve as a replicable model for other regions. With growing recognition that mental health crises deserve timely, compassionate, and community-rooted responses, the opening of Waiorua marks a meaningful step toward a more holistic and inclusive mental health system.