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Speaking frankly...No rain and still a lack of quality services in rural AustraliaWe started the year by linking arms with the Royal Flying Doctors Service (RFDS) to highlight an important issue around the lack of quality and accessible mental health services in rural and remote Australia. The RFDS pointed to data from the Department of Health that showed, while the number of registered psychologists in Australia increased in 2015-16, some 15 rural and remote areas around the country had no registered psychologists at all. In response to this, we welcomed the news that the government would provide an extra $84m to the Royal Flying Doctor Service to expand essential health services by providing mental health nurses for remote and rural areas. It was a start. We also welcomed the establishment of a Senate Community Affairs inquiry into accessibility and quality of mental health services in rural and remote Australia, and in our submission made the following recommendation: “The COAG Health Council should be tasked to develop a rural mental health strategy, informed by a collation prepared by the National Mental Health Commission of the PHN service mapping in rural and remote areas and other key data that identifies service shortfalls. The Commission should also be tasked with monitoring and overseeing implementation of the strategy, reporting back directly to the COAG Health Council.” With the Council of Australian Governments Health Council meeting today, and the Senate inquiry to report their findings on 17 October, one week after World Mental Health Day on 10 October, I can’t help but think that the problems around quality and lack of services will have only increased in recent months. Why? Because we have not welcomed rain in a very long time. And as we know, much of rural and remote Australia is in severe drought. The worst in living memory in some parts of NSW and Queensland. And with the Bureau of Meteorology Outlook not good for the next three months, the lack of rain, and lack of quality and accessible mental health services looks set to collide. We can add to this the terrible financial pressures imposed by some of the worst behaviour described at the current banking Royal Commission. Outside of these pressures, stress and concern of severe drought, we know in rural and remote areas mental health issues occur at about the same rate as the rest of the community. One in five people experience mental health issues every year and almost half of all people experience mental health issues over the course of a lifetime. But in rural and remote areas, people access those services at much lower rates, often as low as 20 per cent of their city counterparts. So what we see is that despite mental health issues occurring at a similar rate, even when there isn’t a drought, suicide is occurring at a much elevated rate; tragically that can be double the rate of suicides in remote areas compared to metropolitan areas. Metropolitan areas where we people do not directly rely on rain for their livelihood, and for the stability and prosperity of their community. We can’t make it rain, but we can do more to ensure the right mental health services are available. Available to the right people, in the right areas, and that needs to be a priority for our mental health sector right now. Warm regards.
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Mental Health Australia Member Profiles
News$5 million for research to improve mental health in elderly Australians The Turnbull Government and beyondblue will provide a total of $5 million for research to help improve mental illness among our older Australia. The funding will be allocated to seven innovative projects that will look to reduce depression, anxiety and suicide in elderly Australians by supporting evidence-based approaches. One project includes a trial to reduce the prevalence of depression in Australian nursing homes and another projects look at improving health and social participation outcomes in older adults with depression and anxiety. Minister for Health Greg Hunt said older people are particularly vulnerable to developing mental health conditions such as depression and anxiety and that's exacerbated by declining physical health, chronic pain, loneliness, grief and loss of independence.
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Reminders R U OK? Conversation Convoy hits the roadR U OK?Day is six weeks away however now is the time to show Australia that 'Every day is R U OK?Day'! Every day, people experience life’s ups and downs; things like grief, relationship breakdowns, financial difficulty or losing a job. Sadly, at these times many people feel they don’t have anyone to confide in. That’s why R U OK? is launching a campaign calling on Australia to have meaningful conversations any day of the year. To drive home the message, we’re hitting the road again on the Conversation Convoy. We’ll be travelling 14,000 km and visiting 25 communities in the lead up to R U OK?Day on 13 September. The Convoy aims to inspire every Aussie, no matter their location, to invest more time in the people around them and give them the skills, motivation and confidence to start a conversation with anyone they may be worried about.
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