Health Minister Ted Flemming said a second year of government investment in improvements to mental health care in New Brunswick will be announced in the upcoming budget (CBC)

Health Minister Ted Flemming says his government is committed to continued improvements to mental health care services in the province.

This week a Moncton mother and Provincial Court Judge Michael McKee expressed concerns that improvements were not happening quickly enough and people are unable to receive the care they need quickly.

Flemming acknowledged the challenge of completely changing the way provincial departments respond is a challenging task, especially when the wheels of government turn slowly.

The provincial government does have a plan to transform mental health care in New Brunswick that was announced in May 2011.

"It's a major revision and a major refocusing in the treatment and awareness of health care and I hope that we're going to be leaders in the country in this," Flemming said.

He said after the first year of investment in the action plan there have been improvements, including funding for 100 young people to receive early psychosis intervention.

Further investments will be announced by the provincial government in the March budget, according to the health minister

Flemming said he is asking New Brunswickers to cut him some slack, explaining that he's only been the health minister for four months.

"The [action] plan is 2011-2018, then we had a switch of ministers ... and I find that a $3 billion portfolio, 20-some thousand employees, health renewal and everything else, that I just humanly can't get to everything on day one."

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Mental health care is improving, Flemming says