Canterbury – Waitaha’s adult inpatient and associated mental health services have made early progress since an August Section 99 inspection, with the forensic nursing workforce now nearly fully staffed after previously running with vacancies of up to 30%.

The Ministry of Health’s Director of Mental Health, Dr John Crawshaw, completed the first quarterly monitoring visit in November and said the leadership team is committed to implementing all 18 recommendations from the August report.

“Visible progress has been made since the report was published and it is clear that the leadership team is committed to implementing all 18 report recommendations,” Dr Crawshaw said. “It is also evident that staff across the service are working hard to make improvements and deliver mental health services to the region.”

The August inspection set out 18 recommendations across governance, care and resourcing, backed by a 12‑month monitoring programme. After the November check-in, Dr Crawshaw said significant work remains, including strengthening lived experience involvement across the service and establishing and investing in a dedicated Māori mental health service.

The Ministry of Health is working with Health New Zealand to support Canterbury on these priorities. Further assessment visits are scheduled for February, May and August 2026.

The release does not outline the model, timeline or funding for the proposed Māori mental health service, nor detail how lived experience input will be embedded across teams.