Tuesday, 14 May 2024

 Georgie CROZIER (Southern Metropolitan) (12:23): (519) My question is again to –

Tom McIntosh interjected.

Georgie CROZIER: Are you right, Mr McIntosh? My question is to the Minister for Mental Health. Minister, mental health related –

Members interjecting.

The PRESIDENT: Can you start from the start, Ms Crozier.

Georgie CROZIER: Thank you, President. It is a serious question. Minister, mental health related presentations to emergency departments are surging, with around 370 more presentations to our overwhelmed emergency departments every week compared to last year. At a time when demand for mental health care has never been higher, why has Labor broken its promise and delayed essential mental health reforms to increase mental health services to support those in need?

 Ingrid STITT (Western Metropolitan – Minister for Mental Health, Minister for Ageing, Minister for Multicultural Affairs) (12:24): I thank Ms Crozier for her question. Of course the government remains absolutely focused on delivering all 74 recommendations of the royal commission’s final report, because we understand and accept that people in need of mental health support need that intervention regardless of what their circumstances are – their economic circumstances – and indeed their postcodes. So I reject the premise of Ms Crozier’s question that we are not getting on and doing the hard work of reforming the mental health system. We have invested over $6.5 billion in that effort to date, and we continue to implement the royal commission recommendations in a way that not only targets where the needs are but also recognises that the pace of the reforms and building the necessary infrastructure and workforce to deliver on the reforms are key parts of success.

We have taken the time necessary to make sure that our budget initiatives are getting to the heart of the services and mental health supports that the community needs. That has included delivering 15 local mental health and wellbeing hubs across the state. That has included a number of emergency department facilities which make sure that people who are presenting with mental health and AOD issues are dealt with in an appropriate setting. That has included a significant commitment, as I have already outlined in answer to a different question from Ms Crozier today, to workforce investments to make sure that we have got the skilled mental health frontline workers that we need both now and into the future.

The reality is that the opposition might not like the fact that we are getting on with this reform. We have implemented a large number of the recommendations, and work has commenced on 90 per cent of the 74 recommendations that are outlined in the royal commission’s final report. I am absolutely committed to and focused on continuing that work, and those opposite might not like that. But we are not going to get distracted. We are going to get on with delivering the reforms that we know the community needs.

 Georgie CROZIER (Southern Metropolitan) (12:26): Minister, these are the statistics and the data, so you are not actually understanding exactly what is happening within our emergency departments and what is happening to those that are seeking care. Readmission rates for the same mental health patients to the same hospital emergency departments within 48 hours are the highest over the past five years, so clearly whatever you are doing is not getting better outcomes for Victorians. Minister, five years after the royal commission handed down its first report, how has Labor failed so catastrophically and made it harder for Victorians to get the mental health support they need when they need it? They are going back into our emergency departments at record rates.

 Ingrid STITT (Western Metropolitan – Minister for Mental Health, Minister for Ageing, Minister for Multicultural Affairs) (12:27): I thank Ms Crozier for her question. Of course we are always concerned when there is an uptick of emergency presentations. This can be driven by a number of different factors, and we should not make assumptions about what is driving those statistics. We know that there are significant cost-of-living pressures in the community, and we know that that may well be a factor in increased need for mental health supports in our community. We also know that our hospital system has been recovering over the last few years from record demand, and the mental health services of our health system are no different to this. This is not a phenomenon that is unique to Victoria. This is something that is happening right across the country and indeed the globe. I reiterate that $6.5 billion of investment, the fact that the government has had – (Time expired)