Focus shifts to mental health policies

By Dr. Ananya Mandal, MDJul 1 2010

According to Health Minister Nicola Roxon, the Coalition has gone “crazy” for providing funds to promote its mental health policy by closing down the Labour health reforms in general practice and record keeping.

This followed the announcement of the $1.5 billion policy made by Opposition Leader Tony Abbott. The announcement was met with praise from mental health experts like Patrick McGorry, and John Mendoza, who quit the National Advisory Council on Mental Health in June. Opposition health spokesman Peter Dutton said the Coalition's mental health policy had received "universal'' praise. “It is only Nicola Roxon and Ms (Prime Minister Julia) Gillard who are saying that we've got the policy on mental health wrong,” he said. According to Mr. Abbott 20 per cent of Australians had a mental health issue every year but many never received help. “Mental health has been too often the forgotten dimension of our health system,” he explained.

His announcement was that if he won the November elections, the Coalition would;

• Provide funds to the tune of $440 million to set up 20 new early psychosis prevention and intervention centres.
• Set up 800 new acute and sub-acute mental health beds with the help of $832 million.
• Raise the number of headspace youth mental health centres from 30 to 90 by spending a further $225 million.

Ms Roxon however disagrees with the experts saying that Labour’s reform plans that focus on general practice and e-health programmes are being deprived of funds this way. “It just seems to me to be a crazy way to fund what might otherwise be a worthy proposal,” she said. She however agrees that more needs to be done for mental health. She said primary health care improvement will take care of all patients and will “make sure that mental health patients and others don't get shunted around the health system or fall between the gaps.”

The Coalition plans to pay for their promised project by scrapping the Gillard Government's plan to set up electronic health records and a proposed Medicare after-hours doctor hotline.

Mental Health expert Prof Mendoza said, “It's certainly in my view the most significant announcement by any political party in relation to mental health in Australia.” Opposition finance spokesman Andrew Robb cited his own depressive illness as an example of how mental illness affects life. He pointed out that nearly 65% people with mental illnesses did not seek professional help.