Shortfalls in the spotlight

Opposition health spokeswoman Libby Mettam has given Mental Health Minister Stephen Dawson a list of shortfalls in the Capes region she says must be addressed urgently. Mr Dawson’s office confirmed the minister would head down south soon to engage with constituents and hear their stories about mental health struggles in the region. The visit comes as the Times reports a lack of an immediate support service for families who have lost someone to suicide, and funding for a “suicide postvention” officer based in Bunbury is set to expire at year’s end. Ms Mettam, pictured, told the Times community awareness of shortfalls in mental health services had only increased since she convened a meeting with key stakeholders earlier this year. “The overwhelming concern was regarding the obvious gap in support for the ‘missing middle’, the absence of early intervention support in the region as well as concerns regarding crisis response,” she said. “Since becoming the member for Vasse, the issues surrounding mental health have become a growing concern.” She said the greatest issue was the number of younger people taking their own lives in the region. Her key concerns included a lack of mental health beds for the region, capacity issues for the Bunbury Psychiatric Unit, and space and privacy concerns for patients and families presenting with mental health issues at local hospitals. Lack of services for people with eating disorders, the workload on school psychologists, and three-month wait times for youth counselling also needed action, Ms Mettam said, and she highlighted “an absence of post-intervention support following the number of suicides in the region”. “There are urgent crisis accommodation/housing concerns,” she said. “There is an absence of out-of-hours crisis support. There is concern mental health providers are operating in silos.” Ms Mettam said a centre such as Safe Haven, already planned for Bunbury, should also be established for Busselton to service the Capes. Despite a mammoth State Government funding announcement this week, few dollars were assigned to the Capes. Funding looked to extend support for those with eating disorders, with a budget boost for Aboriginal support, as well as the Strong Spirit Strong Mind education program. About $1.7 million was also allocated “to progress anti-ligature works at regional acute psychiatric units” in four locations, including Bunbury. AccordWest chief executive Evan Nunn said more State and Commonwealth co-funding support was expected around services operating out of Bunbury. Lifeline 13 11 14 Beyond Blue 1300 224 636