Tuesday, 8 March 2022

Regional youth mental health services

Ms MAXWELL (Northern Victoria) (19:49): (1792) My adjournment is to the Minister for Mental Health, and the action I seek is urgent provision for high-risk mental health beds for young people aged 12 to 15 in regional areas. I have a sad story to share with you tonight of a young person under the age of 16 who has had suicidal ideation, has made suicide attempts and seems to be falling through the cracks—firstly not serious enough to get help, then too serious for agencies to accept.

When this family saw the warning signs emerge they tried to get help locally. They got four sessions at Headspace and then were closed off because they were told his risk was low and the family was caring and supportive. In the meantime this young person isolated himself from friends, was not eating, would not participate in things, started self-harming and went into a spiral. The family wanted him to see a psychiatrist, but they were told no. The family reached out to CAMHS, which is Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services; they were told no. They were told that the system is overrun and there are no workers available. That is quite a rejection.

They eventually jumped the queue on a private waiting list and got to see a psychiatrist. After their child’s first suicide attempt the family were told they needed to reconnect with CAMHS. They got a new caseworker, who told the family that they were overrun and had children in more desperate circumstances than his and that they were a priority. The next suicide attempt ended with an admission to Box Hill Hospital, and they were told regular contact was needed. They still had not seen a psychiatrist through CAMHS. Once they were discharged from the private system they could not get back in, because the child’s situation was now so pronounced they would not take him, and private adolescent hospitals will not take people under 16 years of age.

Meanwhile, they seem to meet a roadblock time and time again from the public system. The 10-bed youth prevention and recovery care facility announced for Shepparton is a much-needed service for this region, and this announcement was welcomed last December. However, it will be next year before this service is operational, and it will cater for people aged over 16. So the gap continues for children aged 12 to 15.

For this child the opportunity was lost back in October 2020, when they first reached out for help. By the time they hit crisis the therapeutic opportunity had gone. This child has been admitted to Box Hill Hospital six times for critical care but has received little therapeutic care because his admission was over a weekend. I met with the mother of this child before Christmas, and I cannot tell you how heartbreaking this was. She is exhausted. Her resilience and determination to do everything she can for her child are incredible, but the impact of this is unmistakable. She cannot work, she cannot sleep and she is constantly alert and stressed.

An expansion of local service provision in our regions is desperately needed, and I would welcome a chance to discuss this further with the minister and find ways to increase services in our regions while the full reforms from the royal commission are rolled out.