THE alarming number of veterans killing themselves reflects the patterns of neglect fuelling the nation’s suicide crisis, a leading mental health advocate says.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Australia's most prominent mental health advocate Patrick McGorry believes the nation is paying the price for the “10 to 15 years of disinvestment in public mental health services” by both state and federal governments.
Days after more than 2000 people flocked to Ballarat’s Victoria Park demanding greater investment in mental health services Professor McGorry said lack of investment has led to up to 3000 unnecessary deaths by suicide in Australia each year.
“The population has been growing quite substantially in Victoria, yet we’ve been flat lining and even gone backwards in the people who are covered. The services are actually shrinking, at least in the specialist and expert level,” Professor McGorry said.
Federal Member for Ballarat and Labor health spokeswoman Catherine King told The Courier she believed appropriate health services existed – but the way they were co-ordinated was unclear and ineffective.
“One (issue) is the co-ordination of services, if you had cancer there is a pathway of services (that a person) seeks. Mental health treatment should be in exactly the same space – from treatment, to diagnosis right through to cure.”
However, Professor McGorry believes the services are simply not there. He says an oversupply of important non-government support organisations was detracting from the need for the government to provide frontline medical support.
“If you happen to have the wrong kind of illness, in other words mental illness, there are all sorts of ways the system avoids treating you,” he said.
“For many, the usual pathway of treatment would be to got to the GP and receive a referral to a psychologist for 10 sessions.”
Professor McGorry said this number was based on evidence, and was completely different from the treatment pathways of any other illness.
“We wouldn’t say – you need 20 treatments to cure cancer and that’s it. That’s the sort of situation we have (with mental illness).”
National Mental Health commissioner Peggy Brown said a more holistic approach involving families was needed to ensure the suicide crisis was addressed. Lifeline 13 11 14.