The Government will add 31 specialist mental health beds at Manor Park Private Hospital in Lower Hutt, with Minister for Mental Health Matt Doocey saying the extra capacity is aimed at speeding access to care and taking pressure off emergency departments.

“These new beds will ensure more people receive faster access to the right support, in the right place,” Doocey said during a visit to the facility. He said the move should reduce unnecessary hospital stays, ease pressure on EDs, and provide more appropriate environments for people with complex needs.

The beds break down as:

• 15 beds for adults with high and complex long-term mental health needs, intended as a recovery-focused alternative to acute inpatient units.
• 16 psychogeriatric beds split between 8 long-term secure places for older adults and 8 short-term transitional beds for Wellington and Hutt Valley residents while long-term needs are assessed.

Doocey pointed to Hutt Valley and Capital & Coast’s performance against the six-hour ED target for admission, discharge or transfer, saying the additional long-term and psychogeriatric capacity is intended to improve patient flow and free up acute wards.

“We are shifting how we support people in need of mental health support,” he said, arguing that more purpose-built, longer-stay options will help people with the most complex needs receive therapeutic care that better fits them.

Manor Park is a secure residential provider specialising in high-dependency psychogeriatric and long-term mental health care.

The announcement is part of the Government’s wider mental health plan focused on faster access to support, more frontline workers, and improved crisis response. The release did not specify when the new beds will open, how they will be staffed, or the funding and commissioning arrangements with Te Whatu Ora.