With the Victorian election over and Labor returned for another four years in government, we now look forward to the Royal Commission into Mental Health promised by Premier Daniel Andrews at the Kyneton Men’s Shed during the election campaign.
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At Mental Health Victoria, we welcomed the campaign pledge with open arms, as it signalled that after so many years of advocacy by individuals, families and organisations, mental health had finally become a major political issue.
The Premier has promised to make a start on the Royal Commission, the first to be held in Australia into mental health, within the first 100 days of his new government.
That is appropriate urgency.
Rural and regional Victorians know that mental health has for too long been the poor cousin of the health system.
In the years to come, we expect the Kyneton announcement will be viewed as a watershed moment for mental health, transforming policy and funding in the way that the Royal Commission into Family Violence did.
We expect this unparalleled investigation of mental health in Victoria will expose serious gaps and that its recommendations will bind future governments into funding the system to meet the needs of all Victorians, regardless of where they live.
Historically, Victoria has under-invested in mental health.
Because of this we know that many Victorians living in rural areas with mental health issues, as well as their families and carers, have little or no access to mental health services.
Despite some large recent budget commitments, access remains a serious issue. The impact is also being felt in hospital emergency departments, police, ambulance services, homelessness services and the justice system.
The Royal Commission into Mental Health is expected to run for two years, so we can expect the findings to be handed down sometime in early 2021.
But in the meantime, the Andrews government must ramp up mental health investment in areas of critical need including new hospital beds and the staff to support them, community mental health services to keep people out of emergency departments, and suicide prevention programs.
For rural and regional Victoria, we need a dedicated rural mental health strategy with more outreach, professional development for rural GPs, follow-up support for people who attempt suicide or who self-harm, and more local options for people who become acutely mentally unwell and require treatment a long way from home.
Most importantly we must not forget that the mental health system is made up of Victorian- and Commonwealth-funded services.
The Victorian government is showing great leadership on mental health and the federal government should do the same.
A key area of concern is the gap between Commonwealth Medicare-funded services such as GPs and the state-funded hospital system.
This ‘missing middle’ means that many Victorians have few options but to present at hospital emergency departments. We must do everything to prevent Victorians getting so unwell that they need to go to hospital.
Federal MPs and candidates should take note of what is happening in Victoria.
To put it crudely, there are votes in mental health.
To put it crudely, there are votes in mental health.
It has become a ‘hot issue’ in Victoria and a growing concern across the country.
For example, Mission Australia’s annual survey of young people, released this week, shows that concerns about mental health among young people aged 15-19 years have doubled since 2016, with 43 per cent listing it as the nation’s biggest concern.
GPs are experiencing unprecedented mental health presentations, with psychological conditions representing 60 per cent of the reason for patient visits.
The federal election is not far off and the major parties are yet to release their policy commitments. We urge everyone in the community to put their local candidates on the spot and ask them:
- Will you make a meaningful commitment to mental health as part of your 2019 federal election platform?
- Will you address the major gaps between Commonwealth-funded services, including the NDIS and state-funded services?
For so many years, the outlook for mental health has not been good.
Today there are grounds for optimism but we need a national transformation.
Angus Clelland is chief executive of Mental Health Victoria.