New mental health frontline

SCHOOLS, workplaces and sporting clubs would become the frontline for identifying and preventing mental health problems in a major reset of the state’s troubled system.

The Andrews Government admits mentally unwell Victorians are falling through the cracks of a system that tragically misses opportunities for early intervention and fails those needing long-term care.

Its submission to the mental health royal commission reveals new details about the scale of the crisis, including: MORE than 578,000 Victorians sought mental health help from a GP last year — a higher rate than any other state, and an increase of more than 30 per cent in four years. POLICE are responding to mental health call-outs every 12 minutes, dealing with 43,000 events involving a psychiatric crisis or potential suicide last year. TWO out of every five students seeing doctors in their high schools need mental health help. NEW mental health beds have been delayed from opening due to staff shortages. MORE than 93 per cent of psychiatrists are in Melbourne and Geelong, causing a “postcode lottery” particularly harming the care of young people.

The Government has told the commission the system is letting down four groups of people, including an “early engagement gap” for those who miss preventive help or are struggling with risk factors such as housing and family violence issues.

Most of Victoria’s $2 billion mental health spend is directed to inpatient and crisis care, and the Government admits this “heavy focus” means it is “missing opportunities to intervene earlier”.

There is also a “missing middle” for people whose problems are too complex for primary care but not severe enough for specialist services. They struggle to get enough support when rebates are only available for 10 sessions a year with psychiatrists.

People with severe mental illnesses are being shunted in and out of care too quickly and often end up in emergency departments or being dealt with by police, while children and young people struggle to find appropriate support.

The Government says it wants to create a “stepped care” system that helps people before their illness escalates — including early intervention in schools, community groups and health services — and provides access to care “without having to re-tell their story, over and over”.

Mental Health Minister Martin Foley said this model was “about building better connections between mental health services so people don’t fall through the cracks, like too many do right now”.