The long awaited review of Australia’s mental health programs and services describes a fragmented system, which is a “massive drain” on communities without any agreed upon outcomes.
The 700 page report – released on Thursday, almost five months after being completed and handed to the Abbott Government – stated that the system had “fundamental structural shortcomings”.
“The overall impact of a poorly planned and badly integrated system is a massive drain on peoples’ wellbeing and participation in the community - on jobs, on families, and on Australia’s productivity and economic growth,” it read.
“Despite almost $10 billion in Commonwealth spending on mental health every year, there are no agreed or consistent national measures of whether this is leading to effective outcomes or whether people’s lives are being improved as a result.”
The report called for the future redirection of $1 billion in funding from acute hospital care to community based mental health programs, as well as the establishment of wellbeing teams targeting Indigenous mental health.
Health Minister Sussan Ley however ruled out the redirection of funding when addressing media on Thursday, stating that the Abbott Government didn’t want to reduce the role of the states in supporting mental health.
Ms Ley said the government was instead going to work with the state governments, saying that a COAG working group to co-ordinate a national mental health approach would be established.
“It's also important to acknowledge this is a report to government, not of government, and while many recommendations offer positive ideas others are not conducive to a unified national approach,” she said.
“[Some recommendations] require further investigation, which these COAG and expert reference group processes will be best to coordinate.”
Among its 25 recommendations, the report also called for a national plan for suicide prevention with the aim of reducing attempts by 50 per cent over the next decade, more clarity over NDIS eligibility and encouraging GPs and pharmacists to be more involved in mental health care.
The government spends around $14 billion each year on mental health but the report says while that's significant, it's not being spent on the right things.
“There is evidence that far too many people suffer worse mental and physical ill-health because of the treatment they receive, or are condemned to ongoing cycles of avoidable treatment and medications, including avoidable involuntary seclusion and restraint," it said.
The Opposition had previously criticised the government over the delay in releasing the report, but has since turned its attention to the challenges facing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
In a statement issued to SBS on Friday, Shadow Minister for Mental Health Jan McLucas said the review painted a dire picture of mental health issues experienced by Indigenous people.
"Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are being incarcerated at far higher rates, are self-harming at far higher rates and committing suicide at far higher rates than non-Indigenous Australians," she said.
The cited the report's figures that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples were 2.7 times more likely to have high or very high distress levels.
The report also stated that suicide rates for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are twice that of non-Indigenous people, while hospitalisation rate for Indigenous people self-harming had inreased by 48.1 per cent between 2004-5 and 2012-13.
"The mental health of our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people is in urgent need of repair," Senator McLucas said.
The Greens have also called for debate, with Senator Penny Wright saying "mental health care in Australia is too often a broken and crisis-driven system".
With AAP.
Read the summary of the Review of Mental Health Programmes and Services below.
