Coronavirus in Ballarat: Victorian mental health services receive $60 million boost

Released on Sunday by Premier Daniel Andrews and Minister for Mental Health Martin Foley, the Victorian government is investing $60 million to keep people suffering acute mental illness at home and away from the stress of emergency departments during the pandemic.

Ms van Schie told The Courier an enhanced ability to treat people going through mental health issues at home will go a long way in taking pressure away from those battling the pandemic.

"The key thing is to try and treat people within a community setting," she said.

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"If we provide services within a community setting, people can be treated at home, while they're within the community so that there isn't extra pressure placed on front-line workers and hospitals."

These sentiments echoed those of Mr Foley when he announced the support.

"We know that particularly at the moment, we want to keep those people with mental illness away from emergency departments," he told reporters on Sunday.

"That is better in terms of treatment for those people, and more importantly, it frees up the resources in our emergency departments as well."

Part of the funding will go to extending community mental health programs to seven days a week, rather than Monday to Friday, and with longer opening hours to provide psychiatric, allied healthcare and data support.

It will also pay for outreach programs run by Melbourne's 15 Headspace centres, which can identify those at the acute end of the mental health spectrum and deliver help within their neighbourhood.

Premier Daniel Andrews said the government had put $250,000 towards a counselling service for nurses, midwives and personal care workers.

"It's a very small amount of money in the overall scheme of things," he said.

"We know Victorians are resilient, but we have never faced a crisis quite like this one and I know there are a lot of people out there doing it tough right now. We want them to know that they are not alone.The funds will also fast-track two recommendations of the interim report from the royal commission into mental health."

This extra support for front line health-care staff was welcomed by Ms van Schie.

Looking at the response to the pandemic locally, Ms van Schie touched on how Lifeline volunteers have noticed a significant sense of fatigue when fielding phone calls about the return to stage three COVID-19 restrictions.

"What I've been hearing from our volunteers is that they're getting a lot of callers who are just tired... they're worried about what's going to happen post COVID-19 and post this lockdown and there's a lot of worry about if it will actually end."

One of the biggest ways Ms van Schie identified helping someone's mental state can come from sticking to or creating a solid routine to provide structure to day to day life in isolation.

"We need to maintain routine wherever possible. If you're working from home, get up at the same time, get dressed as you would to go to work, have your regular breaks and try to have a zoom or video conversation with a friend or a colleague.

"Staying active, being healthy and seeking support when you need it are crucial for mental health."

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-with AAP