The long wait for help
PSYCHIATRIST SHORTAGE HAS PROFOUND IMPACT
GEELONG residents seeking help for mental health issues are facing long waits because of a shortage of psychiatrists.
Natalie Grisenti, 18, of Wandana Heights, said she was diagnosed with depression and anxiety in her early teens and was later told she also had complex post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
She said she was seeing a psychiatrist at the Geelong Clinic, a private facility in St Albans Park, for 18 months, and was an inpatient there twice last year.
Ms Grisenti said her psychiatrist left at the end of last year and she was given a new referral to the Geelong Clinic by her GP.
But Ms Grisenti said she had been waiting since the end of last year for a new psychiatrist.
In March, her GP also put in a referral for her to be an inpatient at the Geelong Clinic after her mental health issues flared up, so she was also waiting for inpatient care.
She said her mental health issues meant she had been forced to stop working.
Ms Grisenti had aimed to complete year 12 this year, but that was also on hold.
“It’s just a failure of the healthcare system,” she said.
“So many young people ignore their issues because they can’t seek help or they’ve had bad experiences and it leads to them having a lot of struggles.”
A Geelong Clinic spokesman said confidentiality requirements meant it was unable to discuss individual patients. “However, it has been widely acknowledged that a national shortage of psychiatrists is impacting on the ability of the mental health sector to meet community demand for support and treatment,” the spokesman said.
“This shortage has been exacerbated by an increase in people seeking mental health support, due in large part to the effects of the Covid pandemic.
“The Geelong Clinic is not immune from these challenges and we are working hard to bring new psychiatrists on board.”
The spokesman said the psychiatrist shortage meant unfortunately there could be delays in patients getting access to treatment.
He said two new psychiatrists were starting with the clinic this week and it was working to attract overseastrained doctors.
Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists Victorian branch chair Astha Tomar said across Victoria, especially regional areas such as Geelong, people needing help for mental health issues had significant difficulties accessing appropriate clinical care in a timely fashion.
“Even prior to Covid, public hospitals have struggled to provide necessary care, with about 20 per cent of clinical positions unfilled for many years,” Dr Tomar said.
“Private psychiatrists have long waiting lists and support a significant part of the community on their own, with limited options for multidisciplinary care like the public health system.
“Covid has further eroded a heavily understaffed system, with the ones remaining rapidly getting burnt out.
“Access to acute-care services needs to be prioritised so people can receive the treatment and care they need when they need it, without having to rely on the private health system for support for severe mental illnesses as a matter of course.
“To date, the system continues to struggle to provide this due to a shortage at all levels of clinical workforce including psychiatrists.”
It is understood Geelong Clinic approached Ms Grisenti on Thursday, after questions from the Geelong Advertiser, to offer psychiatric care next week.