Health services get around the table

A Capes dad’s fight for better services to help people at risk of self-harm has triggered a major pow wow of mental health providers across the State. Following the success of a round table convened in Busselton last month, instigated by bereaved father Jon Eddy and attended by WA Mental Health Minister Stephen Dawson, a bigger forum was lauded by the Minister last week. It comes as the region’s network of not-for-profit providers say they are on shaky ground when it comes to funding, with population growth and the pandemic spurring a huge uptake in the region’s skeletal mental health services. Lamp Inc chief executive Graham Hope said the Busselton conference offered key themes for Mr Dawson to consider, including “the need for appropriate transition pathways between and within services and a tiered, preventative, clinical-and-recovery approach to service delivery”. “Lamp encourages the Minister to release resources to address a constant and growing need in the community for help with mental health concerns and finding safe accommodation,” Mr Hope said. Lamp wants to expand its help for people leaving acute psychiatric units in Busselton and Bunbury to find housing and then meet tenancy requirements ongoing. “The service delivered by Lamp is very successful at enabling people released from hospital to get safe accommodation and not be re-admitted,” he told the Times. “Our service saves State Government an estimated $500,000 to $800,000 per year and costs a tenth of this, but (we) can’t get funding to expand the service to more people living with mental health concerns.” Mr Eddy said he would continue to agitate for more funding to bolster the region’s services. He was motivated in his campaign by the death of his son by suicide and a spate of young people taking or attempting to take their lives across the region during the past two years. Among the options he believed needed exploration was development of a Safe Haven site for youngsters in the Capes region. Mr Dawson said the forum of more than 200 professionals from mental health and addiction services was about “building momentum together”. Priorities in the WA Government’s Sustainable Health Review included a close examination of the system for regional WA, with expansion of Perth’s police co-response capacity already slated for the South West mid next year, as the Times reported last month. “The valuable contribution of those with lived and living experience of mental health and alcohol and other drug issues is vital to create a person-centred system that meets the needs of Western Australians now and into the future. “Boosting community-based services, and delivering a comprehensive, accessible and integrated system will provide better outcomes for some of the most vulnerable people in our community and help reduce wait times in emergency departments.” Mr Dawson envisaged future services would “support a planned moved away from hospital-focused services, to providing more community-based care with a focus on prevention”.