In its draft report released this morning, the Productivity Commission’s Inquiry into Mental Health has called for a “generational shift” in Australia’s approach to mental health.
The Report is strongly critical of the current approach to the treatment of mental illness which it says “has been tacked on to a health system that has been largely designed around the characteristics of physical illness”
It recommends the following five priority areas for reform, each one involving detailed recommendations for action:
- Reform area 1: prevention and early intervention for mental illness and suicide attempts
- Reform area 2: close critical gaps in healthcare services
- Reform area 3: investment in services beyond health
- Reform area 4: assistance for people with mental illness to get into work and enable early treatment of work-related mental illness
- Reform area 5: fundamental reform to care coordination, governance and funding arrangements
Croakey has collated early responses to the report from the mental health sector, below, and will be adding to this as stakeholders provide their analysis and commentary.
Responses so far are broadly supportive of the need for major reform and the areas identified as priorities but stakeholders have also identified some notable gaps in the Report – including a failure to address the mental health impact of climate change and overlooking the role of prisons and the justice system in relation to mental health.
(For more detail, see this analysis of the report and call to action for health equity responses, as well as this 58-page compilation of the Croakey team’s Twitter summary.)
Mental health stakeholders write:
Mental ill-health affects 1 in 5 Australians each year, yet many do not receive treatment or support. The @ozprodcom draft report on #mentalhealth offers reforms to improve services, target needs & focus on early intervention & prevention. More via: https://t.co/Y4nfw8dyYJ
— Everymind (@EverymindAU) October 31, 2019
Good to see @ozprodcom draft report on mental health out with @CSIsocialimpact @Swinburne submission cited. While #socent is no panacea, we think it could be 1 part of a more inclusive economy & employment services system @AuroraElmes @KSeibertAu
— Prof Jo Barraket @JoBarraket@Aus.social (@JBarraket) October 31, 2019
https://twitter.com/johno0910/status/1189760138451664896
I've had anxiety my entire life – and I mean since toddler. School was terrifying at times. @ozprodcom's recommendations would have changed my life; saved me from decades of hell & lead me to a path of wellness & management much earlier #Mentalhealth #auspol #anxiety https://t.co/liopySM3Ot
— Megan Barrow (@MeganBarrow) October 31, 2019
https://twitter.com/johno0910/status/1189762812974747649
https://twitter.com/johno0910/status/1189763910607478784
Pleased to see strong support for IPS in @ozprodcom draft report – the evidence supports it, the questions now are implementation, scaling up, expanding beyond #youth #mentalhealth and workforce development. More info about development of IPS in Oz here https://t.co/pcqtIVsKUE
— Eóin Killackey (@EoinKillackey) October 31, 2019
https://twitter.com/johno0910/status/1189765359810703360
Mental Health:One million Australians w #mentalhealth conditions (incl anxiety & depression to psychosis & borderline personality disorders) are going untreated per year, while the economic cost of mental illness has hit $180bn. @ozprodcom https://t.co/Aj9dwhv6dl Thanks @lunns🖐 https://t.co/9NECHLJZCK
— rebecca bartel (@RebeccaBartel) October 31, 2019
https://twitter.com/johno0910/status/1189770261207244801
To change our mental health system and improve the lives of people experiencing mental ill-health, we need all hands on deck. Occupational therapists have a strong track record of supporting recovery and reforming mental health services, beginning almost a century ago. @otaust https://t.co/OQBhnPrxIQ
— Dr Carolynne White OT (@Carolynne_OT) October 30, 2019
Aboriginal #MentalHealth #SuicidePrevention
New @ozprodcom report says Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders are twice as likely as non-indigenous people to be hospitalised because of mental illness, and twice as likely to die from suicide
https://t.co/KeAwbQ0NcO pic.twitter.com/tgwyWwoo7E
— Our Health in Our Hands ❤️💛🖤 (@NACCHOAustralia) October 30, 2019
Prevention and early intervention with children and young people are he keys to increases productivity- #mentalwealth
SO will our national leaders now deliver on that journey previously articulated by @TurnbullMalcolm and @afels1 ??? @ScottMorrisonMP @GladysB @JoshFrydenberg— Ian Hickie (@ian_hickie) October 31, 2019
https://twitter.com/johno0910/status/1189694264105525248
https://twitter.com/johno0910/status/1189671393119485953
https://twitter.com/johno0910/status/1189676302992695297
https://twitter.com/Prisonblogger/status/1189637067900256256
