Jeremy Rockliff,Minister for Mental Health and Wellbeing
The Tasmanian Liberal Government is delivering our plan to transform our mental health system so people can get more holistic support.
It is vital we take a preventative and early intervention approach through an integrated, best-practice model.
We are rolling out a number of initiatives, including a $300,000 investment over three years to improve the mental health and wellbeing of young people in Circular Head. Life Without Barriers will provide a new service in the region by November this year, offering intake and assessment, brief interventions and psychosocial support, as well as group programs to promote resilience.
The initial focus will be on establishing a service for 12 to 18-year-olds, which will expand to include up to 25-year-olds within the first year. The service will run three days a week, comprising one day based in the Smithton Hospital and the other two days with outreach workers travelling around the region.
This service was designed through close consultation with local stakeholders, including the Circular Head Council, Smithton Hospital, Relationships Australia (Tasmania), and Primary Health North West.
The 2021-22 Tasmanian Budget also includes $41.2 million to fully fund phases one and two of the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) Review recommendations.
Professor Brett McDermott has commenced as Statewide Specialty Clinical Director for CAMHS to lead these reforms, and is progressing a number of priorities, including:
- Reviewing the current workload and model of care for the Perinatal Mental Health Service;
- Project planning for the service for out-of-home-care children;
- Project planning for the service for youth; and
- Working with the University of Tasmania to create a Centre for Mental Health Service Innovation.
The Government has already implemented a number of recommendations from the Review, including employing project officers to begin the implementation of the service for out-of-home-care children and the youth mental health service.
Last week, we released an implementation plan for the recommendations of the Review of Roy Fagan Centre Older Persons Mental Health Services.
This plan focuses on adequate resourcing, robust clinical governance processes, and linkages with broader mental health reform activity underway.
It includes the establishment of a Project Advisory Group with representation from Council of the Ageing, Mental Health Council of Tasmania, Flourish, Mental Health Family and Friends, and the University of Tasmania.
An initial $1 million has been allocated to develop a model of care for Older Persons Mental Health that meets the needs of the Tasmanian community.
A lot has already been done, but we know there is still much more to do and the Tasmanian Government will continue to build a best-practice, integrated model of mental health services across the state.
