Speaking frankly...                                       

Are we there yet?

Back in 2015, when responding to the National Mental Health Commission’s Review of Mental Health Services and Programs, the Australian Government gave the following commitment:

“People must not lose access to psychosocial supports in relation to NDIS eligibility.”

The Australian Government went on to explain:

The Government will also continue to work with state and territory governments to ensure the effective transition to full scheme NDIS for people with severe and persistent mental illness and psychosocial disability, including:

• ensuring that the NDIS delivers on its promise as a major advance in terms of providing choice and control for people with disability, including people eligible for the Scheme due to a disability arising from mental illness;
• learning from the experience of the NDIS trial sites to ensure that people with psychosocial disability are well supported and that service providers have clarity around transition;
• ensuring continuity of support for people with severe mental illness who are not eligible for NDIS services; and
• periodically reviewing progress of the transition to full scheme NDIS to ensure that the scheme is delivering positive outcomes for people with psychosocial disability

Not long after this, Mental Health Australia commissioned a paper to recommend a set of approaches around the implementation and operation of the psychiatric disability elements of the National Disability Insurance Scheme.

The paper was also included in our submission to the Productivity Commission last year, and one of the opening statements read as follows:

The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) presents an historic opportunity for people with psychosocial disability to receive the support they need to live contributing lives — support that is sorely lacking at present.

While the promise of the NDIS is great, Mental Health Australia remains concerned about how it will apply in practice for people with mental illness. Certain aspects of Scheme design — as set out in legislation and in intergovernmental agreements — do not yet seem consistent with contemporary recovery-focussed practice or with the need to expand support services for people with severe mental illness.

It would disappointing if the early implementation of this major reform unintentionally resulted in reduced service access for some groups — a risk that appears to be very real in the trial sites today.

The same report, based on the National Mental Health Service Planning Framework, a report which governments have still not published, estimated the annual need for psychosocial supports:

we can estimate that each year approximately 290,000 persons with a severe mental illness require some form of community support (individual support, group support or non-acute residential) including 180,000 individuals who require individual community support. In addition, there are 153,600 mental health consumers whose carers require some form of support.

All of these numbers are significantly higher today, nearly three years later.

I revisit this because over the last 10 days, we’ve seen developments in relation to psychosocial support and the NDIS.

Last week we welcomed the announcement of $160 million – a joint state and federal government commitment - to address the gaps for those missing out. Another $80 million from the states to matches last year’s Federal Government announcement in the budget.

Combined investment that will go towards the delivery of psychosocial support services for the thousands of Australians with severe mental illness who are ineligible for the NDIS.

Is it welcomed? Yes. Does it meet the Governments previous commitments? No unfortunately. 

Which is why we are not there yet, and again I’ll revert back to our words from three years ago because we are still in need of a much clearer vision and direction for those in need of psychosocial support.

Resolving these issues will require an overarching vision of the whole suite of services and supports for mental health consumers and carers. For that vision to emerge, we need new governance arrangements that extend across boundaries between the NDIS and other systems, and across levels of government. The task will involve input not only from the NDIA but also from state, territory and Commonwealth governments.

A combined challenge, if we are to get to where we need to be.

Warm regards.

Frank Quinlan
Chief Executive Officer

Optimising Psychosocial Support Project Update

Earlier in June, project staff hosted a webinar for service providers to learn more about Mental Health Australia's Optimising Psychosocial Support Project. This webinar was an opportunity to learn about project methodology, and to provide feedback and comments on the list of support services that will offer alternative ways of for the NDIS to support participants with psychosocial disability. A video of this webinar is now available for viewing on the project webpage.

There will be a second webinar focusing on the aggregation of services into typical support packages on Thursday 9 August from 10:00am-12:00 midday (EST). If you would like to register to participate in this webinar, please email kath.sequoia@mhaustralia.org with your name, organisation name, job title and contact phone number. You will be provided with the link to the webinar and pre-reading material.

2nd Annual NDIS and Mental Health Conference

 

Free borderline personality disorder webinar series

This webinar series in an opportunity for practitioners to hear presentations from experts who will outline how to identify youth with BPD, how to work with them, as well as therapeutic interventions and treatment options. The series is produced by the Mental Health Professionals Network (MHPN) in partnership with the Australian BPD Foundation and Spectrum Personality Disorder Service for Victoria. The 4th webinar in this series titled Borderline Personality Disorder in Youth and Early Intervention will be held on Monday 23 July, 7:15 – 8:30 pm AEST. Register below

 

CRANAplus 36th Conference

The CRANAplus Annual Conference brings healthcare professionals together to share ideas, experiences and personal challenges of remote healthcare from Australia and around the globe. This year's conference will be held over two days, the 20-22 September 2018 in Cairns, Queensland. The 2018 conference will coincide with the International Rural & Remote Nurses and Midwives conference. Registrations now open.

Nominations now open for the 2018 Australian Mental Health Prize

The Australian Mental Health Prize recognises the outstanding contributions of Australians to either the promotion of mental health, or the prevention and treatment of mental illness. National Mental Health Commission Chair Lucy Brogden launched this year's Mental Health Prize at UNSW Sydney this week. To enter, nominees must provide a CV and 200 words outlining the work being undertaken and how it is making an impact.

 

National Suicide Prevention Research Fund is today opening applications for PhD scholarships

Suicide Prevention Australia (SPA) have opened applications for 6 scholarships for researchers in the field of suicide prevention. These scholarships are jointly funded by Regional Australia Bank and Anytime Fitness Australia. Applications close 3rd August.