This article, by LGAQ media executive Craig Johnstone, originally appeared on LinkedIn here.
The suicide of Northern Territory girl Amy “Dolly” Everett has revived debate on whether Australian families and government are doing enough to fight the scourge of bullying among the nation’s youth.
But Amy’s tragic story has also shed light on another area of care and public policy that deserves attention, the state of mental health services in rural and remote Australia.
Local councils in Queensland have begun lobbying the Federal and State Governments to make good on their professed commitments to mental health and wellbeing in the bush.
At last year’s Local Government Association of Queensland annual conference in Gladstone, delegates called for increasing funding to improve the availability and accessibility of mental health services and programs in rural and remote Queensland.
The tyranny of distance is acute for those in regional Australia dealing with mental health or wellbeing issues.
Central Highlands Regional Council, which raised the issue at last year’s conference, cited a 2015 Regional Wellbeing Survey conducted by the University of Canberra that found rural and remote communities in Queensland experience the lowest levels of wellbeing than other states and territories.
“It is frequently mentioned that the further the distance from the coastline, the greater the incidence of suicide,’’ the council’s motion to conference stated.
While praising both levels of government for raising awareness of the value of positive mental health and wellbeing and investing in some comprehensive planning, regional councils are now anxious for some real change to happen.
They are pushing to ensure there are “responsive and accessible” services available to those in the regions who find that isolation, poor economic or business conditions, the impact of natural disaster or another of the myriad of challenges facing them is affecting their mental health.
To quote the motion by Central Highlands Regional Council: “Funding must be flexible to address the communities’ or region’s need, be realistic in amount to ensure the sustainability and delivery of services are in close proximity to rural and remote areas.”
“This includes appropriate travel costs, competitive salaries to attract professional staff, and funded for a period of time that is conducive to the attraction and retention of staff.”
In a recent letter to the LGAQ, Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt responded by pointing to the Government’s announcement of last year’s Budget of $9.1 million over four years to improve access to mental health treatment services for people in rural, remote and very remote locations across Australia, including Queensland.
“I am pleased to advise that from 1 November 2017, eligible patients with a Mental Health Treatment Plan will be able to claim rebates for video consultations through the Medicare Benefits Schedule 'Better Access to Psychiatrists, Psychologists and General Practitioners' (Better Access) initiative,’’ he wrote.
“These changes allow up to seven of ten Better Access mental health consultations to be provided through online channels, with one of the first four sessions required to be delivered through a face-to-face consultation. Relevant services can be delivered by clinical psychologists, registered psychologists, occupational therapists and social workers.”