CEO Update: How urgent are the important things?

banner: CEO Update, Mental Health Australia

Speaking frankly...

How urgent are the important things?

Former U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower, once said: "I have two kinds of problems: the urgent and the important. The urgent are not important, and the important are never urgent." The "Eisenhower Principle" is said to be how he organized his workload and priorities.

And at Mental Health Australia it is a principle we look at regularly. One we looked at last week when our Board met for a strategic planning exercise.

Put simply, with our limited resources, addressing important priorities limits the amount of urgent issues that we can take on. How do we address important, long term trends when so many urgent issues arise each day?

So what does this mean for Mental Health Australia? What is our strategic focus? What are our priorities? What is important?

At the heart is our core work of policy development and advocacy for our members.

Our members represent the vast array of specific clinical and community interests in the mental health sector. Our service to them is to be a conduit and communicate with government on areas of emerging policy, and policy design. As we provide this service, our members can be confident that the lessons from the important services they provide, especially those at the front line working directly with consumers and carers, are being delivered directly to governments.

This has seen Mental Health Australia play a significant role in system design and interfaces in recent years, in areas as diverse as the NDIS, Primary Health Networks, and the Digital Mental Health Gateway. In the years ahead, we hope to secure additional resources to extend our work in these areas which will allow greater engagement with the sector at a time of significant change.

But Australia is replete with policy advice on mental health. If we are to achieve lasting reform we also need to work on the detailed implementation of those policies, and on securing the long term investment that will be required for success. In the year ahead, this will be one of our greatest challenges.

So where is our planning taking us? We need the long term reform and investment required to put mental health on a par with other areas of health. We need to work hard on the detailed, painstaking work, of smoothing the interfaces between PHNs, NDIS, clinical services, psychosocial support programs and other service offerings in a model built with consumers and carers at the centre. But we also need to ensure that Mental Health Australia has the resources it needs to deliver sustainable services to its members and to the Australian community.

With mental health so high on the public and political agenda, surely the time is right for us to secure the lasting reform that we all agree is so essential.

Frank Quinlan
Chief Executive Officer

2017-18 Budget Estimates public hearings on mental health next week

The Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee will hold public hearings relating to mental health on Tuesday 30 May 2017 at Parliament House, Canberra. For those interested in following the hearings they can be watched online on the day.

Next Week

On Monday I will be participating in a MHWA Steering Committee Meeting.

On Tuesday I will be meeting with Mr Andrew Wallace MP at Australian Parliament House.

On Wednesday I will be meeting with Minister for Health, the Hon Greg Hunt MP at Australian Parliament House.

Then on Thursday I will be meeting with SA Minister for Disabilities, and Mental Health and Substance Abuse, the Hon Leesa Vlahos MP at Parliament House in Adelaide.

Meet a Mental Health Australia Member

On The Line

On the Line delivers 24/7 telephone web chat and video counselling to more than 75,000 people each year. They are a passionate organisation that has been providing counselling services for more than 55 years. They exist to save people's lives, build their resilience and connect them with community support. They support and empower people when they are at their most vulnerable. They believe that everybody deserves access to quality care whenever they need it - regardless of geography or circumstance.

Services and Partnering Opportunities

On The Line's professional counselling and support services include telephone support, real-time online text counselling, video counselling, call back services, social media monitoring and moderated forums. These modalities provide an effective alternative to traditional face-to-face counselling and are proven to increase uptake and engagement, offering anonymity, immediacy and 24-hour availability.

They also specialise in creating tailored support services to meet the needs of communities and organisations. Find out more about partnering with On The Line.

Web - https://www.ontheline.org.au/
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/678346
Twitter - https://twitter.com/onthelineaus

Become a Member of Mental Health Australia

As the peak body for the mental health sector in Australia, Mental Health Australia is uniquely placed to influence the national debate on mental health issues and achieve our vision of mentally healthy people and communities. Representing more than 100 organisations in the mental health sector, find out more about Membership at the link below.

Parliamentary News

Services for people with psychosocial disabilities related to a mental health condition

Transcript of Joint Standing Committee on the National Disability Insurance Scheme - Services for people with psychosocial disabilities related to a mental health condition. Wednesday, 17 May 2017 Sydney.

AMA calls for marriage equality

The AMA is calling on the Australian Parliament to legislate for marriage equality, and to end the divisive public debate over same-sex marriage. AMA President, Dr Michael Gannon, has written to Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Opposition Leader Bill Shorten, urging a bipartisan approach to marriage equality. Releasing the AMA Position Statement on Marriage Equality 2017, Dr Gannon said that excluding same-sex couples from the institution of marriage has significant mental and physical health consequences for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, and queer/questioning (LGBTIQ) Australians.

More support for Men’s Sheds across Australia

Minister for Health, Greg Hunt, says the Turnbull Government is providing funding for 105 Men’s Sheds across Australia to support the physical and mental health and wellbeing of men in our communities. A total of 123 grants totalling $400,000 have been awarded to Sheds across Australia. This is an important program for men in the community to connect with each other, particularly older men who are at greater risk of social isolation and preventable health issues. Men’s Sheds provide a sense of community, a safe and friendly environment where men can work on meaningful projects at their own pace, in their own time.

Independent expert panel to begin mental health review

Five mental health experts with wide reaching clinical and lived experience will join NSW Chief Psychiatrist Dr Murray Wright to begin a review of the practice of seclusion, restraint and observations across the NSW mental health system. Health Minister Brad Hazzard and Mental Health Minister Tanya Davies confirmed the review will consider whether existing legislation, policy, clinical governance and practice standards are consistent with national standards, international best practice and the expectations of patients and the community.

Suicide talks key to finding solutions

The first in a series of community consultations have begun in Maningrida to overhaul the NT Suicide Prevention Strategy. The Assistant Minister for Suicide Prevention, Ngaree Ah Kit, said the Northern Territory has some of the highest rates of suicide in the country with many families impacted. 'Every suicide is a tragedy and the rates we have in the Northern Territory are unacceptable. 'The Territory Labor Government wants to halve suicide rates over the next decade,' Ms Ah Kit said.

Reminders

Registrations open for the Australian Counselling Association National Conference, 16-17 September

Registrations are open for the 'TOWARDS 2020 AND BEYOND: Embracing Technology and Working with Young People' ACA National Conference. The National Conference will explore the challenges new technology brings to the counselling industry and mental health services as a whole; in particular how each generation embraces (or not) technology in their own diverse way. The conference will discuss the positive and negatives, benefits and new challenges technology brings to counselling. Other more traditional themes such as relationships, models of therapy, financial counselling, and other counselling related topics will also be on display. This conference will be of interest to not only counsellors but educators, psychologists, social workers and any other profession that works closely with people. This is a fantastic opportunity to network with some of Australia's finest speakers and researchers and to profile your area of expertise in a positive collegial atmosphere.

Consultation open: NSQHS Standards user guide for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health

The Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care (the Commission) is seeking feedback on the draft resources to support the National Safety and Quality Health Service (NSQHS) Standards (second edition). The resources aim to assist health service organisations to implement and prepare for assessment to the NSQHS Standards (second edition). Consultation is currently open for the NSQHS Standards user guide for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health and closes on 31 July 2017. View or download the guide, consultation questions and instructions here for submitting a response online or by email, mail or fax. Your feedback will help ensure that this resource is useful, easy to understand, and applicable to you and your organisation.

Calling for participants in Adolescent Mental Health and Stigma Survey

Today, many young people are diagnosed with a mental health disorder. Researchers at the University of Western Australia in the School of Psychological Science want to know how this impacts them as they develop their self-identity. If you are 15-21 years, and have a mental health disorder, (or can share this information with those people) please consider completing/sharing this anonymous 15 minute survey.
Participants have the opportunity to win one of 10 $20 Coles-Myer or iTunes vouchers.

Future2 ‘Make the Difference!’ Grant nominations open

Future2, the philanthropic arm of the Financial Planning Association of Australia (FPA), is calling for FPA members to nominate a local not-for-profit organisation for its Make the Difference! Grants program. Since 2007, Future2 has committed $688,000 in grants to community not-for-profits through the generosity and fundraising efforts of FPA members and friends. The annual grants program supports life changing projects designed to help young Australians in need to go on to lead productive, secure and happy lives.

2017 National Suicide Prevention Conference, Earlybird Registration Closing on 30 May 2017

The Program Advisory Committees of the 2017 National Suicide Prevention Conference – ‘Relationships, resilience and respect: Responding to vulnerability in life' – would like to remind you that discounted early bird registration will close on 30 May 2017. Find full information here.

Pool of Women's Leadership Development Funding Available

Women & Leadership Australia (WLA) has supported the development of thousands of women across many industries whilst driving gender equality across all organisations in Australia. A small pool of residual scholarship funding provisioned for this financial year remains available for women in the health sector to participate in a range of leadership development courses. The fee support opportunity provides women with funding of between $3,000 and $8,000 but has to be allocated prior to the end of the financial year. At this stage, Expressions of Interest are being sourced until June 16.

Mental Health Conference 'Championing the mental health reform, community development and funding for coordinating and delivering choice and individualised care', 20-21 November

There are a lot of exciting changes occurring in terms of mental health reform and the delivery of mental health care in 2016 and the 4th Annual National Mental Health Conference will bring together high-calibre speakers and delegates to discuss mental health policy reform, community development and funding for coordinating and delivering choice and individualised care, along with practical experiences in preparing for the NDIS and PHN implementation. Super Early Bird registration is currently open.