Questions without notice and ministers statements
Maternal and child health services
Georgie CROZIER (Southern Metropolitan) (12:00): (469) My question is for the Minister for Mental Health. Minister, in last year’s budget the Labor government’s mental health and wellbeing levy cost Victorian businesses $912 million. Despite this revenue stream intended to provide mental health services, a recent review revealed that there are serious gaps in mental health checks for pregnant women and new mothers. Half of Victorian mothers are missing vital screening for postnatal depression, with one in four experiencing anxiety, one in five experiencing depression and one in 10 experiencing obsessive compulsive disorders in the perinatal period. Minister, given businesses are providing over $900 million for mental health and wellbeing, why are mothers missing these critical health checks at a time when they are particularly vulnerable to developing mental ill health conditions?
Ingrid STITT (Western Metropolitan – Minister for Mental Health, Minister for Ageing, Minister for Multicultural Affairs) (12:00): I thank Ms Crozier for her question. This is a very important issue. Of course the Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System did outline a very clear road map for reform to the mental health system. The government did pick up on every single recommendation and commit to implementing them, including creating a levy that would help fund the reform of the mental health system. That levy does go into many different parts of the mental health system in terms of the rolling out of the 74 recommendations of the royal commission, but it certainly did outline the critical importance of perinatal mental health for parents and their infants taking a family-centred approach. We know that unfortunately anxiety and depression affect up to one in five new mums and indeed up to one in 10 new fathers, so this is work that is a focus for the Allan Labor government. We want to make sure that new and expectant parents have the supports that they need and have better access to vital perinatal mental health supports. We want to build that compassionate, inclusive and responsive mental health and wellbeing system in Victoria, and we have certainly wasted no time in investing in this area.
In the 2023–24 budget, for example, we invested $10 million to support mothers and families experiencing acute mental health and wellbeing issues during the perinatal period through programs like PANDA, which I am sure Ms Crozier is familiar with. In addition to supporting the mental health of parents and families during pregnancy and the first year of parenthood, PANDA delivers important statewide intensive care coordination services which provide for mothers with more complex perinatal health experiences. We have also got the perinatal emotional health program, which is about improving early intervention and treatment of antenatal and postnatal mental health presentations for expectant and new mothers and parents, and in December 2021 we announced an investment of more than $100 million to deliver Australia’s first specialist dedicated women’s mental health service in metropolitan Melbourne and Shepparton, which will support more than 750 Victorian families. There is additional work being undertaken by Minister Thomas in the health portfolio, including centres to support new parents in Victoria, and it will certainly remain a strong focus of the government to make sure that these services are available.
Georgie CROZIER (Southern Metropolitan) (12:03): Minister, thank you for your response. Your electorate of Western Metropolitan Region is one of the worst areas where new vulnerable mothers are missing out on these vital checks and services. Five years ago, as you mentioned, the Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System recommended immediate action to address the workforce crisis. Yet maternal and child health nurses and other clinicians were reluctant to screen women because ‘timely access to the right services is not available’. Minister, how many new mothers have not been referred to a mental health practitioner because there are such limited mental health services available?
Ingrid STITT (Western Metropolitan – Minister for Mental Health, Minister for Ageing, Minister for Multicultural Affairs) (12:04): I thank Ms Crozier for her supplementary question. I have tried to outline in some detail what the specific supports are for perinatal services in the mental health portfolio, but I am not responsible under the general order for maternal and child health.
Georgie Crozier: On a point of order, President, it is actually about the referrals to a mental health practitioner because the services are not available, so it is in relation to Minister Stitt’s portfolio. But I am very happy for her to take it on notice if she wants to.
The PRESIDENT: There is no point of order.
Ingrid STITT: In response to Ms Crozier’s supplementary, what I think I indicated in the answer to the substantive question was that we were closely looking at ensuring that these services are providing that vital support and early intervention. The government has made significant investments in this area and will continue to follow and implement the recommendations of the royal commission in respect to this matter.