Blueprint for mental health fix

GEELONG’S high rate of mental health issues will be tackled by a new municipal health plan.

The council’s health and wellbeing blueprint highlights that just under one-third (32.3 per cent) of Geelong adults have suffered from anxiety or depression.

That is more than eight percentage points higher than the Victorian average.

Geelong also has a high proportion of people (22.1 per cent) who had sought professional help for mental health problems in the previous year.

The data showed a worrying increase in anxiety or depression of 10 per cent between 2008 and 2014 across Greater Geelong.

It also found less than half the population believed their health was good or very good.

A key focus of the council’s plan, adopted this week, is to support social connections to improve mental health.

Windermere ward Cr Anthony Aitken said it was the first time mental health had been addressed in a council health plan.

“That references the struggles that are occurring in the broader community across Geelong,” he said.

He praised the work of Barwon Health and its mental health inpatient unit Swanston Centre, but said services were struggling to meet demand.

Brownbill ward Cr Sarah Mansfield, a doctor, said social and physical environments had a big impact on people’s health and wellbeing.

“That’s something I hope we can influence as a council,” she said. “(The plan) includes things that people would like to see the council act on — more focus on mental health, food relief, infrastructure and affordable housing, among other things.”