Tuesday, 10 September 2024

Mental health services

Sarah MANSFIELD (Western Victoria) (12:42): (660) My question is for the Minister for Mental Health. Last year the government delayed implementation of recommendation 10 of the mental health royal commission to replace police with paramedics as first responders to people experiencing a mental health crisis. The justification provided at the time was that the relevant organisations were not ready to operationalise the change but that the government was still fully committed to implementing it. Twelve months on from this assurance we are still hearing from stakeholders concerned about the government’s progress and the lack of transparency regarding implementation and timelines. In response to my question in the committee stage of last year’s bill, the Attorney advised that Ambulance Victoria would commence rollout of the training in 2024 and that there were project teams in AV, VicPol and what was then ESTA planning the move towards a health-led response. Minister, can you provide an update regarding the implementation of recommendation 10 of the mental health royal commission?

Ingrid STITT (Western Metropolitan – Minister for Mental Health, Minister for Ageing, Minister for Multicultural Affairs) (12:43): I thank Dr Mansfield for her question, and this is really important reform. Of course all of the recommendations of the royal commission are important, and we are working very hard to continue the rollout. In fact 90 per cent of the recommendations we have commenced work on, including the particular recommendations 8, 9 and 10 that you have referenced in your question. Can I begin by thanking our police and paramedics and mental health workforce, because clearly they do critical work and they play such an important role right across the system, often helping people when they are at their very lowest moment and in crisis. We do know that we need to rebuild the emergency system so that we are wherever possible providing a health-led response rather than a police response.

The critical design and enabling work to support this particular set of recommendations is underway, and that work includes working with Ambulance Victoria and Victoria Police to develop a pathway to deliver that health-led response that I mentioned. However, these are quite detailed operational changes that have to be designed in a way that does not add additional pressure to a system that is experiencing significant pressure. We are taking the time to get it right, and we will not be in a position to implement these changes until that pressure does reduce on some of the emergency response systems in the community. But it is incredibly important work. We have a budget allocation to continue the design work associated with implementing these important changes, and I am very happy to keep you up to date, Dr Mansfield, on how that work is progressing.

Sarah MANSFIELD (Western Victoria) (12:45): I thank the minister for her response. Minister, I appreciate that it is difficult and detailed work, and it is important to get it right, but can the government commit to full implementation of recommendation 10 in this term of Parliament?

Ingrid STITT (Western Metropolitan – Minister for Mental Health, Minister for Ageing, Minister for Multicultural Affairs) (12:46): We are committed to all the recommendations that the royal commission final report laid out. It was a comprehensive report and it is a 10-year reform journey, so there will be recommendations that take a little longer than others. But what I can say is that we understand the importance of having a health-led response when people are in crisis. This is obviously a priority, and we are working as quickly as we can, recognising that our emergency services are under significant pressure already because of the increased demand across the community.