Tuesday, 23 May 2023

South-West Coast electorate mental health services

Roma BRITNELL (South-West Coast) (12:11): My question is to the Minister for Mental Health. When a Hamilton resident contacted the emergency after-hours hotline at South West Healthcare for a person with extreme depression and suicidal ideation, he was told that they were so under-resourced that he should call Lifeline or get police to do a welfare check. This government is raising over $850 million from the mental health levy this year. Why are residents being told to call Lifeline instead of receiving the urgent mental health services they need?

Gabrielle WILLIAMS (Dandenong – Minister for Mental Health, Minister for Ambulance Services, Minister for Treaty and First Peoples) (12:12): I thank the member for her question. As the member will well know, a couple of years ago the Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System handed down its report, some 74 recommendations, and this government, those on this side of the house, committed to implementing –

Daniel Andrews: And a few over there.

Gabrielle WILLIAMS: that is right, a few over there as well – all 74 of those recommendations, with an investment so far of some $6 billion. That is more than every other jurisdiction in Australia. This is – and we can never forget this – a complete rebuild of our mental health and wellbeing system in acknowledgement of the fact that it had some significant challenges. On this side of the house, we believe in big reform, difficult reform, challenging reform. We do not shy away from it.

John Pesutto: You can’t deliver it, Gabrielle. That’s the problem.

Gabrielle WILLIAMS: Well, the Leader of the Opposition says we cannot deliver it, but the Leader of the Opposition oversees a party room which effectively voted it down. So let us not forget that. We as a part of this reform agenda have introduced –

James Newbury: On a point of order, Speaker, on relevance, this question went to a person being told to call Lifeline rather than receiving the help they needed, and I would ask you to bring the minister back to the important question.

Members interjecting.

The SPEAKER: Order! I will rule on the point of order. The minister was being relevant to the question that was asked. I ask the minister to come back to the question.

Gabrielle WILLIAMS: Thank you, Speaker. As a part of this reform agenda it should be remembered that this government introduced a dedicated revenue stream to ensure that this work would not be undermined should those opposite come into government. That is effectively what we were doing – futureproofing an investment that was so very important to the rebuilding of our mental health and wellbeing system. Now I am pleased to say that two years in, there are more services operating in our state today and there will be more to come. We are deep into the foundational work of rebuilding our mental health system.

Daniel Andrews: We’ll chase up that individual.

Gabrielle WILLIAMS: Absolutely. We have committed to implementing or putting online more beds than the royal commission actually recommended that we do. But of course I am happy to follow up the specific circumstances of the case that the member raised – always happy to do that. It is very important to me and all of those in the government that we are able to connect people with the services that they need, which is the very reason that many of the recommendations of the royal commission go to providing local care to people close to their home, effectively. We are in the process of rolling out some 50 locals across the state, with more to come online very soon –

Daniel Andrews: And another stage of Warrnambool hospital.

Gabrielle WILLIAMS: That’s right – in addition of course to those acute beds and in addition to a range of different initiatives which target young people, infants and families and LGBTIQ+ people. This is a very comprehensive reform agenda, and what I would say is that it is so very important that those opposite get on board with this reform so we can ensure it gets done.

Roma BRITNELL (South-West Coast) (12:16): In my electorate mental health services are so overwhelmed that only one in five people that present to an emergency department in acute mental distress are treated within the clinically acceptable target of 8 hours. Despite the raising of over $850 million from the mental health levy, why are 80 per cent of people languishing in an emergency department rather than getting the urgent mental health care they need?

Gabrielle WILLIAMS (Dandenong – Minister for Mental Health, Minister for Ambulance Services, Minister for Treaty and First Peoples) (12:17): I again thank the member for her question. Again, the mental health royal commission acknowledged – and the government acknowledged in instigating that royal commission – that our system is under extraordinary pressure and, more than that, needed to be rebuilt to be able to meet the needs in our community. It also should be pointed out that as a part of that reform, the thinking and the logic goes that we do not want people necessarily only accessing the system at the acute end. We want people to be getting early help and to be getting it closer to home, and that is at the heart of so many of the recommendations of the royal commission and indeed so much of the work that is being led here in Victoria by this government – work like our 50 locals that are being rolled out across the state, work that goes to support a number of different agencies in providing that early intervention and prevention piece to ensure that people’s mental ill health is not escalating into the acute services.