ACT Greens spokesperson for Health, Amanda Bresnan MLA has called on the ACT Government to provide $300,000 a year in the next budget to non-government organisations for the provision of after-hours emergency mental health services.

“The Greens believe that mental health services have been underfunded for too long,” said Ms Bresnan today.

“Our Parliamentary Agreement with the ACT Government requires it to spend a proportion of new health money on mental health each year, and most specifically on community organisations working in that field.”

“$300,000 a year  to non-government organisations for the provision of after-hours emergency mental health services could prevent the unnecessary hospitalisation of people with a mental illness, and relieve the burden on the Crisis Assessment and Treatment Team (CATT).”

“There are many instances where people suffering from a severe mental illness have a good relationship with a community worker who they could talk to quickly, rather than waiting and then having issues escalate so they require the assistance of CATT.”

“This Government has a long way to go in adequately funding mental health services, and the Greens will continue to work hard on the cross bench to ensure that mental health services are a priority.”

Amanda Bresnan, ACT Greens spokesperson for Health, says that mental health funding commitments secured in the ACT Greens/ALP Agreement should ensure ACT Council of Parents & Citizens Associations calls for the ACT Government to fund KidsMatter are answered. 

“Mental illness often shows its first signs when people are young. If we can help teachers, and educate children and teenagers about what to look out for and provide a safe environment for them, we can prevent mental illness taking hold of a young person’s life,” Ms Bresnan said today.

“Through the Parliamentary Agreement, the ACT Greens requested that the Labor Government deliver more funding towards the training of teachers in mental health matters.”

Funding was provided through the 2009-10 budget, and over approximately the next 18 months the ACT Department of Education will spend $200 000 assisting in the rollout of Kidsmatter for primary schools and Mindmatter for high schools.

“The Greens are yet to secure the funding for Kidsmatter and Mindmatter for the following two years (2011-2012 and 2012-2013), but we will be lobbying the Government hard to make sure this is included in the next budgets.”

“Governments have a long way to go in adequately funding mental health services, but with the Greens on the ACT crossbench it is important that the community knows that mental health services will continue to be a priority issue,” Amanda Bresnan said.

ACT Council of Parents & Citizens Associations Media Release: http://www.schoolparents.canberra.net.au/docs/mediarel/KidsMatter_Oct09.pdf

Amanda Bresnan, ACT Greens Health Spokesperson, called for a focus on quality outcomes following the release of the latest national mental health report by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) yesterday.

“This report only gives us a part of the picture,” Ms Bresnan said today.

“While the report recognises the high number of service contacts in ACT, it also points out that we don’t know how many people use those services, or how often they use them.”

“We don’t actually know who the people are, and what happens to them once they use or access a service.”

“It’s about quantity and quality, and the two must go together. We must make sure that the services we are putting in place are benefiting the people they should, and that is mental health consumers and carers.”

“That is why, along with increased funding to reflect the level of mental illness in the community, the Greens have called for:

• the development of outcome measures and quality standards to be used across government and community sector services
• an annual survey of consumer experiences of care in the mental health system
• a review of funding structures for a more integrated system,”

Ms Bresnan said.

ACT Greens Health spokesperson, Amanda Bresnan MLA today released a discussion paper on how the ACT can progress to the next paradigm in mental health services.

“When the mental illness institutions were closed down, people suffering from a severe mental illness were put out into the community with very little help. As a result, we now see them going in and out of hospital on a regular basis, and going from crisis to crisis.” Ms Bresnan said.

“To progress to the next paradigm in mental health services, we need to provide assistance to a person when they are recovering from a severe episode of mental illness. We need to do it were they live and where they work.”

The ACT Greens mental health discussion paper, entitled My Life, My Community provides 25 recommendations on how assistance to people recovering from a severe episode of mental illness can be provided via housing, employment, general healthcare, and case management.

“We also need to do what we can to help them maintain their health, and prevent the next episode. We can do this by making sure they are part of a community, and their housing and employment conditions are secure and stable.”

“Too often a person with a mental illness can fall through the gaps between different Government departments and community organisations, so we need to make sure they have the one case manager that co-ordinates all those different services for them.” Ms Bresnan said.

The paper recommends major steps towards implementing best practise in mental health policy reform and reaching the mental health funding targets set in the Parliamentary Agreement.

The My Life, My Community discussion paper is available here.

Hosted by ACT Greens MLA Amanda Bresnan

NZ have done it, Victoria is doing it, and now so can the ACT…its time to make the next great leap forward in our model of mental health service delivery.

To make the shift towards community based mental health services with a recovery focus, we also need to make a shift in the manner in which governments fund mental health services. For that reason the ACT Greens have specified through their Parliamentary Agreement with the ACT Government that by 2012 thirty percent of mental health funding should be delivered via the community sector.

The Greens, through Fiona Tito-Wheatland of Enduring Solutions, have been consulting with key community stakeholders to develop a plan for how we can make the next move – and we would like you to come along, hear our proposals, and tell us what you think.

Please note, we are keen to progress a mental health framework that adopts as much of a holistic view as is possible, and if you work in relevant fields such as housing, drug and alcohol, or legal and financial advice, there are likely to be ideas that we would like your views on.

Drinks and light food will be provided.

Time:                12:30pm to 2pm

Date:                 Friday 19 June 2009

Location:          Exhibition Room (upstairs), ACT Legislative Assembly, Civic Square

RSVP:               6205 0130 or Bianca.Elmir@parliament.act.gov.au