Kealy fears for PCPS

Member for Lowan Emma Kealy fears a mental-health pandemic will grow if the government dismantles Victoria’s Primary Care Partnerships.

Ms Kealy, the state opposition spokesperson for mental health, said the government had announced its intention to abolish PCPS from April 2022 after years of uncertainty.

She said the decision to abolish Victoria’s PCPS came after the government had initially intended to sever funding and service agreements on December 31, 2019.

“However PCPS received ‘stay of execution’ letters extending their service agreements until June 30, 2020 and this funding was further extended due to their work on COVID-19,” she said.

Ms Kealy said in a joint statement with shadow health spokeswoman Georgie Crozier that PCPS and their 850 partners had been ‘the silent hand that supports the good health and wellbeing of local communities’.

“In some areas of regional Victoria, PCPS provided the only government-funded frontline mental-health support available to regional Victorians, who have some of the highest suicide rates in the state,” she said.