Patient safety is our priority. Our hospitals and emergency departments will remain open. Continue to attend all appointments on the day of the strike unless we have contacted you to reschedule.
The assertive community treatment team provides a community-based mental health service for people in Waikato who experience mental illness and have related high and complex needs.
Contact us
To contact the assertive community treatment service:
The assertive community treatment team is comprised of registered health professionals, who provide an assertive and intensive level of community mental health care and treatment to support people to live successfully in the community.
The team includes:
occupational therapists
social workers
nurses
psychologists
medical.
Assertive community treatment is an intensive and highly integrated approach for community mental health service delivery. It is not a case management program, but rather an intervention.
The primary goal of assertive community treatment is recovery through community treatment in the below domains.
Improve function:
increase in self care
activities of daily living
safety
relationships and social interactions
living skills
occupations
cognitive rehabilitation
problem-solving.
Maintaining wellness:
management of symptoms — both residual and active
improvement of insight
adherence to treatment
education
recovery planning
whānau involvement
support to access stable accommodation and available social benefits.
Risk management:
risk assessment and management
dynamic risk factors and their management
multidisciplinary team input
harm reduction
improve problem solving.
The Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora community alcohol and drug service provides comprehensive alcohol and drug assessment and treatment for people in Waikato presenting with moderate to severe, complex substance abuse or dependency.
Contact us
Hamilton
To contact the community alcohol and drugs service in Hamilton:
We provide specialist services to the most severely affected people. Comprehensive alcohol and drug assessment and treatment planning form the basis of multi-disciplinary team treatment that includes:
medical assessment and treatment
individual case management and talking therapy
educational and therapeutic groups
hospital-based assessment and stabilisation in-patient beds
home alcohol detoxification program
consult liaison service to Waikato Hospital and Henry Rongomau Bennett Centre
psychological therapy
access to free hepatitis C screening and intervention as applicable
links with community probation services offering brief alcohol and drug screening with referral onto the most appropriate
service as applicable.
Alcohol and drug services are provided at:
Hamilton
Thames
Te Awamutu.
Outreach clinics are also available in rural areas.
Opioid substitution treatment programme
We provide an opioid substitution treatment program. Eligibility is defined by the Opioid Substitution Treatment New Zealand practice guidelines 2014 entry criteria.
Opioid substitution treatment prescribing may include either methadone or buprenorphine naloxone treatment.
Once stabilised on treatment our shared cared service will provide support to your healthcare provider to continue your treatment.
Eligibility for the community alcohol and drug service
Adults aged 20 and older are eligible. Treatment may be provided to younger people in some circumstances.
People younger than 20 may be seen if no other provider exists in the area, but they must have issues associated with complex substance abuse or substance dependence
We provide specialist programmes for people with opioid dependency and co-existing mental health disorders.
A residential recovery service is a planned and time-limited residential support service aimed at promoting well-being and recovery. There are residential recovery service options across the Waikato region, including kaupapa Māori services.
Where to find us
The Ahikāroa community housing support service is provided by LinkPeople at:
support to access, transition into and sustain independent housing options such as social housing or private rental options across Waikato.
co-ordination of entry into residential recovery services and support to transition out into more independent housing options.
Residential recovery services provide different levels of staffing and support. For example, some have staff onsite during the day whereas others may have staff onsite 24 hours a day.
People living in residential recovery services set goals for their recovery and actively work towards achieving these goals.
These goals and support needs are reviewed in conjunction with the tangata whaiora and their key supports.
Ahikāroa provides support to transition into more independent housing or access different levels of residential support, if required.
Crisis assessment and home treatment is a community-based service providing crisis mental health assessment for people in Waikato who require an urgent response.
Contact us
To contact the crisis assessment and home treatment service:
This service is for people who are likely to require the support of community or inpatient mental health services.
Crisis assessment and home treatment also provides short-term follow-up for:
new people who have been urgently assessed and require a period of specialist input or intervention
existing people of community mental health teams who require acute home-based intervention as an alternative to hospital admission.
Dialectical behaviour therapy is a method of treatment designed for people with a confirmed diagnosis of borderline personality disorder. Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora provides this service for people in Waikato.
Contact us
To contact the dialectical behaviour therapy department:
The programme normally takes 1 year to complete and involves:
weekly individual therapy with a trained dialectical behaviour therapist
a 2-hour skills training group once a week.
Both aspects of the programme are equally important.
Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora provides regional forensic psychiatric services to the Midland | Te Manawa Taki health region, covering the courts, prisons, acute and community forensic services.
Contact us
To contact the Midland regional forensic psychiatric service (Puawai):
The Midland regional forensic psychiatric service (Puawai) is at the Henry Rongomau Bennett Centre.
Services we provide
Services provided by Puawai, our regional forensic psychiatric service, include:
secure inpatient service of 50 beds
community forensic service that includes services to the prisons and courts in the region, as well as community mental health follow up to community-based forensic service users living in Hamilton.
The forensic service is based in Hamilton but operates an outreach service to the other areas, including court liaison nurses based in both Bay of Plenty and New Plymouth.
We work in collaboration with Hauora Waikato, who deliver a suite of forensic services including:
court liaison
youth forensic
a 15-bed inpatient facility.
Referral information
Referrals to the service are from:
the justice system (courts)
corrections services (prison and community probation)
mental health services.
Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora's intellectual disability dual disorder service is a free, community-based specialist psychiatric outpatient service for people in the Waikato with a co-existing intellectual disability and mental health issues, who are aged 18 or older.
Contact us
To contact the intellectual disability dual disorder service:
The intellectual disability dual disorder service aims to facilitate the optimal care of people with an intellectual disability, serious mental illness or suspected psychiatric disorder and an associated level of complexity which requires input from a specialist mental health service.
We are located in Hamilton and unable to actively work with people outside the city and immediate surrounds.
It may be possible for us to provide one-off consultations for other areas in Waikato if the person is able to travel to a Hamilton clinic.
Referral information
A referral for this service must come from a healthcare provider.
Manaaki Raatonga aa Iwi supports Waikato people to live well in their community by encouraging personal growth and developing skills in partnership with whānau and the wider community.
Manaaki Raatonga aa Iwi supports people to live well in their community by encouraging personal growth and developing skills in partnership with whānau and the wider community.
Our staff include a mix of occupational therapists and support workers. We focus on individual recovery goals, which are supported by assessment. We also use community organisations such as Arts for Health and Agora cafe and event space.
We provide 1-to-1 sessions and opportunities based around the school term timetable, which enables us to regularly change what we offer.
Manaaki Raatonga aa Iwi is a recovery-focused rehabilitation service for people with high and complex mental health needs which:
believes in your right to self-determination
supports you to achieve your dreams and aspirations
works in partnership with you, and your whānau to use your strengths
helps you to build a bridge to a life worth living.
We work with people who are currently using either Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora Waikato or Hauora Waikato mental health services.
The memory service is a non-acute specialist diagnostic, treatment and support service for people in Waikato experiencing complex and unexplained progressive changes in their cognition such as memory.
Level B1 Older Persons and Rehabilitation Building Waikato Hospital 214 Pembroke Street Hamilton 3204
Services we provide
Memory services we offer include:
expert clinical diagnosis
thorough and sensitive assessment
information on appropriate treatment options
post diagnosis education, support and future planning advice
links for clients or their whānau to other service providers and community supports.
Our approach is flexible and tailored to suit the needs of people and their situation. We strive to be responsive to the needs of people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, using interpreters where appropriate. Individuals who identify as Māori will be offered a referral to Te Puna Oranga for cultural support and assessment.
We are usually unable to accept referrals for non-complex presentations or where there is an already established diagnosis, such as dementia. In these cases we can offer comprehensive specialist advice on how you can be assessed and managed. Some referrals may be forwarded to other services if it is felt these services are better suited to meet your needs.
These could include:
neurology
older persons and rehabilitation service
intellectual disability dual diagnosis service.
We welcome enquiries regarding potential referrals or service related questions. If you are interested the team is available to present on our service at your workplace.
Referral information
A referral for this service must come from a healthcare provider.
The Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora Waikato perinatal mental health is a team of experienced, specialised health professionals skilled in helping mothers with mental health conditions related to having a baby.
We take a holistic approach, working with both expectant mums and those with infants in their first year of life, together with partners, whānau, and services and health providers involved in their care.
Our team offers assessment, treatment and advice for women who have developed a mental illness during the perinatal period or have an ongoing or previous mental health disorder.
Referral information
A referral for this service can come from a healthcare provider, whānau and friends or by self-referral.
This service is for Waikato people with anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and eating disorders — not otherwise specified (ED-NOS with anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa sub-types).
Contact us
To contact the specialist eating disorders service:
The service undertakes initial screening and assessment (telephone or face-to-face) of referrals to:
determine whether a comprehensive assessment is indicated within the community mental health service, or
to provide appropriate advice or facilitate an assisted referral to another service provider, such as a community based non-government organisations (NGOs).
Referral information
A referral for this service can come from a healthcare provider or by self-referral.
Urgent referrals should be directed to crisis assessment and home treatment:
Suicide prevention is everybody's responsibility. Everyone can have a role in promoting wellbeing, minimising harm and assisting those in crisis.
Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora Waikato aims to reduce suicide and deliberate self-harm.
Strengthening mental health and wellbeing in Waikato will make a positive difference in people's lives.
Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora Waikato has an action plan which promotes collaboration between us, communities and other agencies. The actions will be done with:
government
non-government agencies
community
volunteer sectors.
Referral information
Many mental health and addiction services require a referral from a healthcare provider. Some accept self-referrals or referrals from whānau and friends.
Check the referral information for each service.
Mental health and addiction
Life can be challenging and cause high and low moods. Some people may experience mental health issues or addiction. Find out about the signs and symptoms, and what support is available.