RURAL MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES

Mr PETER DRAPER (Tamworth) [6.20 p.m.]: Tonight I inform the House of the crisis enveloping the mental health system in New South Wales, and particularly as it relates to rural areas. I express my delight that the Minister Assisting the Minister for Health (Mental Health) is at the table and that the shadow Minister for Mental Health is present in the Chamber. I know the passion that both share on this particular issue. I convened a meeting at my office on 14 February that was attended by my colleague the honourable member for Northern Tablelands and representatives from local police, the Anglican Counselling Service [ACS], Lifeline, the Tamworth Mental Health Support Group, Tamworth Homeless Men's Support Group and a parent of a mental health patient. The meeting concluded that a collaborative approach by all mental health groups in the New England north-west was the only way to address the current crisis in the system.

Health has long been an issue of concern in this State, and it is one that I and fellow Independents are aiming to address to allow people in country areas the same quality of health care as their city cousins. Health concerns rate as the number one issue worrying country residents, and for good reason. There is currently a nation-wide shortage of health professionals in the system, and nowhere is this shortage felt more than in the country. Waiting times for specialist treatment often stretch out beyond the 12-month mark, and many residents are forced to travel great distances just to see a general practitioner. While health is an issue that affects all of us directly at some point in our lives, mental health can also have an indirect effect on many of us, through either a friend or family member suffering from a mental illness.

Figures provided by the Anglican Counselling Service in Tamworth indicate an alarming rise in patients presenting with various forms of psychological distress. In 2003-04 and 2004-05 about 7 per cent of the service's clients were treated for mental health issues such as depression, anxiety, personality disorders, self-harm and suicidal behaviour. In July-August 2005 in Tamworth, 12 per cent of new clients presented with the same issues. More alarmingly, these figures have risen dramatically in the past few months. In September 2005 to February 2006, 21.5 per cent of new clients presented with mental health issues, with the majority being referred by health practitioners. Statewide, as a result of psychological distress, around 7 per cent of adults are totally unable to perform their usual duties for one or more days each month, costing the workplace an estimated $2.8 billion per year.

Reverend Brian Kirk of the ACS attended the meeting, and raised concerns about the service's ability to adequately treat clients given the limited amount of resources and funding at their disposal. While the service charges clients who can afford to pay for treatment, Reverend Kirk pointed out that many of their clients are on below-average incomes, with 54 per cent living on $300 per week or less, and 91 per cent receiving an income below the national weekly average, so that the service's ability to recoup costs is very limited. Training of staff is another issue for the service, as to keep abreast of growing mental health treatment and strategies constant training is required. This forces the service to fund travel and study leave to areas of learning outside Tamworth.

While the ACS provides a fantastic service for the north-west and New England areas, it simply cannot meet the demand with its current level of resources, and more people with mental illness will suffer untreated as a result. This is a situation facing all of the mental health providers in the electorate of Tamworth, and it was made clear to me that the system is indeed in crisis. Government funding is inadequate, and services are not being properly co-ordinated to address the shortfalls. As a result, the groups that attended the meeting agreed to form a sort of alliance, where they will be addressing the areas of concern and working together for a resolution. Richard Torbay and I will be actively working with these groups by raising the concerns in Parliament, offering solutions and urging action by the State Government to alleviate the crisis. The Independents' Rural Health Strategy addresses many of these issues, such as offering incentives for health workers to accept employment in rural areas to alleviate staff shortages. A major contributor is a lack of co-ordinated transport so people can access services.

Judging from the concerns raised at the meeting, there needs to be a radical overhaul of the mental health system in regard to infrastructure as well as access, as in many cases in the country both are non-existent. To meet the growing problem of mental illness, emergency services are continually called upon, impacting on their response times to other emergencies. Oxley Local Area Command Superintendent Tony Jefferson provided a valuable insight into the situation facing police in the Tamworth area. He said there had been about a 30 per cent increase in incidents of violence or erratic behaviour where the police who attended recognised that the incidents involved mentally ill people. In most cases police are required to transport a mentally ill patient for treatment, and this creates a significant drain on their resources. Police should not be the first point of access for people suffering mental health problems. Proper infrastructure needs to be put in place to assist the mentally ill, especially in our smaller towns, as unfortunately this area of need and demand on resources seems almost certain to continue to grow.

Miss CHERIE BURTON (Kogarah—Minister for Housing, and Minister Assisting the Minister for Health (Mental Health)) [6.25 p.m.]: I thank the honourable member for Tamworth for raising this matter and for his support of people who suffer from a mental illness. I put on record that we have agreed to a meeting with the honourable member to address his specific issues. However, I place on record that this Government has increased funding by 141 per cent. Many of the issues that the honourable member touched on relate to work force issues in the country—an issue across Australia. The Premier has pushed for that matter to be put on the Council of Australian Governments agenda. We are anxiously awaiting the national action plan, which I believe will include measures to encourage general practitioners to take up positions in country areas, as that is the gateway to accessing mental health services. People with mental illnesses visit their general practitioners for other illnesses, and in this way provide a means of early intervention and direction to services. We need to build on the capacity of our general practitioners.

We also need to build up our work force and training, as was outlined by the honourable member. We are dealing with those issues. The money is there for beds. We have rolled out 300 beds over the past few years, and another 300 beds are to come on line. As Minister for Housing, might I say that we also have a successful program called the Housing and Accommodation Support Initiative, by which we provide the stock and Mental Health provides the support in the community to keep people well. We have seen a 90 per cent reduction in the 700 people that we house presenting to inpatient units. The other matter that I wanted to address is the rural mental health strategy, which is being rolled out across rural New South Wales. It will all but eliminate the involvement of police in providing mental health transport services. The Government is committed to making changes and to fixing the problems. It has done a lot of work over the past few years. However, we have a long way to go. I look forward to working with the honourable member for Tamworth to address not only his local concerns but the concerns that we have statewide and nationally.