Video-link plan for mental health
Residents in the Busselton region could soon be forced to rely on long-distance telehealth services following the announcement of a 10-year blueprint to address mental health, drug and alcohol issues.
The Mental Health, Alcohol and Other Drug Services Plan 2015-25 was released this month and was hailed as a “sector-wide transformation” by Premier Colin Barnett.
The plan aims to provide access to personalised, modern and high-quality services for people struggling with mental illness, alcohol and drug use “close to their homes”.
Mental health commissioner Tim Marney told the Times the plan would “rebalance the system” to ensure people received treatment and support, reducing the reliance on hospital-based settings.
LAMP chief executive Lorrae Loud said the plan offered few reassurances to Capes residents with mental health issues.
She said teleconferences were a “poor second” to on-the-ground, face-to-face quality support and safe hospital care.
“Years of local rural support service providers’ input has clearly demonstrated teleconferences should be an ‘as well as’, not an ‘instead of’ service, ” she said.
“Most carers and consumers report a need for more on-the-ground local services with local people.”
Mr Marney said while Bunbury would receive more community mental health services beds, he confirmed people in outlying South West communities would need to capitalise on telepsychiatry if they wanted to stay closer to home.
The former WA Government under-treasurer said the services would be provided from local hospitals and residents could talk to professionals in the metropolitan area via video link.
“In some respects, the reality is this might be the only way to get those services to where people live,” he said.
“If people want to be staying within their communities, it’s really the only way to sustain the services.”
Mr Marney stood by the teleservices and urged people to “give it a try”.
“I have visited a few spots through the Wheatbelt where they have got the facilities in place,” he said.
“It looks very promising to deliver highly qualified services.”
Mental Health Minister Helen Morton said the plan was an “honest reflection” of the mental health picture in WA and articulated the need to tackle mental health, alcohol and other drug challenges over the next 10 years.
The outcomes in the report will start to be rolled out next year, with an ongoing program of information and communication technology intended to be in place by 2025.
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