Young people and those in crisis struggling amid system overload
Mental Health Victoria CEO Phillipa Thomas.
Official data shows Victorians’ use of alcohol and other drugs has fallen by 28 per cent since the pandemic; but other mental health risk factors such as social isolation, domestic violence, financial insecurity, and homelessness have all increased post-COVID.
Mental Health Victoria CEO Phillipa Thomas said views from hundreds of people in the industry warranted a review of whether implementation of the royal commission’s recommendations was having the intended impact.
“If we invested money in the first five years of reform under the assumption that any of these metrics would change, and they didn’t, what does that mean for the rest of our reform program?” said Thomas.
“Because we are so focused on the recommendations of the royal commission, we may not be thinking enough in contemporary terms or looking at what is happening around us in real time to notice changes to make sure we are responding appropriately.
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“We’re seeing things like school refusal still be very high, we know eating disorders are on the rise… These are probably the first signs of the downstream effects of Covid-19 that are emerging now, and we may find ourselves as a mental health system that has to respond to a lot of things that we didn’t anticipate.”
While social isolation is the main cause of rising mental health problems, cost of living pressures are also having a major impact, according to a mental health industry report published on Thursday.
More than $6 billion has been invested in the sector since 2018, and the Mental Health Levy, introduced in 2021, now contributes to a third of the state’s mental health output fund. But those who run mental health services report that they are not close to meeting demand and are not seeing patients as often or as early as they need.
Half of Victorians needing mental health help are waiting more than a month for an appointment, with many having to pay more than $100 out of their own pocket.
People at all levels of the mental health system agreed that children and young people, as well as those in crisis, were most in need of improved services.
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They also agreed that funding preventive and early intervention programs, as well as better focused programs for the most critically ill patients, should become a priority.
Thomas said using data to adapt the royal commission’s recommendations to changing circumstances and growing needs would have a greater impact than continuing with strict enforcement planned in 2021.
With workforce shortages continuing to impact the ability to deliver new assets across the state, Thomas said realigning those already in the system to meet the highest needs, such as placing a 24/7 crisis assessment team at every health service, should be a priority.
