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Nelson teenager concerned about level of mental health support for youth

In an election promise an inquiry into mental health is underway.

It was an election promise, now an inquiry into mental health has begun, with a panel travelling around the country to get public feedback.

Among those having their say is Nelson teenager Zoe Palmer, who is concerned local services for youth in crisis are under threat.

"I have one friend and she had a breakdown one night and her mum actually called the crisis team and they said to her mum 'where are you? We can be there in half an hour' and they were," Ms Palmer told 1 NEWS.

The 17-year-old surveyed more than 300 people about the region's mental health services for young people. She presented her findings to the inquiry panel on Thursday evening.

"Our job is to listen and to report to the government in October with recommendations for change," says inquiry chair Professor Ron Paterson.

"Most people, even though they have found it hard, have wanted to talk about their story but also to talk about what would have made a difference, what they think things should look like."

For Zoe Palmer, that means ensuring people her age have access to specialised care around the clock, which she says will stop under a DHB proposal.

Nelson Marlborough DHB Chief Medical Officer Dr Nick Baker says it plans to move to a single on-call overnight crisis service for all ages.

"Out of hours we will have a specialist crisis team, and that's going to be a team that's based in the emergency department which is an improvement on the previous model that was people at home asleep," Dr Baker explains.

Those staff won't be from its child and adolescent mental health team, but there will be a qualified child psychiatrist on-call to deal with difficult emergencies.

Ms Palmer has gathered 1500 signatures on a petition against the change that can be viewed here.

Meanwhile, the opportunity for the public to be involved in the mental inquiry is open until July. 

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