Page 1661 - Week 06 - Wednesday, 18 May 1994
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Mental Health Services
MS ELLIS: Madam Speaker, my question is directed to the Minister for Health. I ask: Has there been a reduction in the waiting list for services for mental health patients in the ACT and, if this is the case, how has that been achieved?
MR CONNOLLY: I thank Ms Ellis for her question. I am very pleased to be able to praise the efforts of the Health Department's community mental health service in the child and adolescent services area, which have achieved a quite dramatic reversal in the trend of growing waiting lists. In less than 12 months the service has reduced client waiting times from three months to a maximum of two weeks. This service provides care for families with problems as diverse as preschoolers with disturbed behaviour, children with sleep disorders, grief and loss and behavioural management, through to severe emotional and behavioural disturbance.
Waiting times fell after the introduction of an open day consultation service, a service which was based on a model from the Dalmar Child and Family Service in Sydney, which operates a similar program in New South Wales. This was piloted under Mr Berry's stewardship in 1993, initially with half-day services offering eight sessions a week. It has now been expanded to every Tuesday, with up to 12 families being seen by the team. It has had a remarkable effect on reducing waiting times to see the service. An evaluation of the program has shown that some 87 out of every 100 families who have been through the program found it to be very helpful.
It is a good example of community mental health services. I point out that we have amongst the highest per capita expenditure on mental health services in the country. Mr Berry and I were at joint health and welfare Ministers meetings in Perth when that report was published and were quite amused to see the West Australian headline, "WA behind ACT on Community Mental Health Services". The ACT's community mental health effort was praised in the Western Australian newspaper as a good model. We were both rather disappointed that most people in Canberra do not subscribe to the West Australian.
Mr Lamont: Was that in the Canberra Times?
MR CONNOLLY: No, the Canberra Times took a slightly different approach to that particular Commonwealth report. Madam Speaker, here we have a good example of some more good news in health.
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