Services feel the strain

HOMELESS people with mental illness are being discharged from hospital into crisis shelters, adding pressure to an already stretched system and impeding patients’ recovery, according to homelessness services.

Shelter Tasmania has told the Productivity Commission the state’s homelessness service providers were crying out for 24-hour on-call specialist services for clients who presented with mental health challenges. The current model had workers — who were usually without clinical training — instead calling police or paramedics to deal with issues outside of business hours, Shelter Tasmania said.

The peak housing and homelessness body said this response could have a negative impact on the worker, the distressed client and other people staying in crisis accommodation.

“Self-harm and suicide attempts occur with distressing regularity,” Shelter Tasmania said.

“Using the housing and homelessness system as the ‘alternative’ when hospital beds are unavailable is inappropriate and unhelpful to people experiencing acute mental health distress, unfair and unsustainable for the services and the people who work there, and adds pressure to a system in crisis, with harmful and costly impacts on vulnerable people.”

People who left crisis accommodation without supports in place, such as ongoing clinical and tenancy support, were likely to return to shelters, Shelter Tasmania said.

“There is an urgent need to address the housing shortage in Tasmania and in other jurisdictions to both prevent people’s mental health getting worse, and to aid people’s recovery,” the Shelter Tasmania submission said.

“An affordable, appropriate, safe and secure home for everyone is needed to obtain the social and economic benefits of improving mental health.”

Mental Health and Wellbeing Minister Jeremy Rockliff yesterday said integrating mental health services was “a priority”.

“That’s why we have a plan to build a better mental health system, with increasing focus on early intervention and community and wraparound support options, with a reduced reliance on hospital emergency departments,” Mr Rockliff said.

The government announced it would integrate the mental health system four years ago.