Gladys Berejiklian MP
Shadow Minister for Mental Health
Shadow Minister for Mental Health Gladys Berejiklian said today she was shocked to learn of the State Government’s failure to address a severe lack of mental health services in Monaro.
“The NSW Liberal/Nationals held a Mental Health Forum in Queanbeyan in September last year where we were confronted by the extent of the Mental Health crisis,” Ms Berejiklian said.
“It is appalling the Labor Government has done nothing to address this crisis in services. I believe it is rather cynical that the Minister Assisting the Minister for Health will be devoting just one hour to a mental health forum in Queanbeyan tomorrow. This won’t even touch the sides of airing the number of failures in the system," she said.
ReplyDelete“I know my colleagues and I who arranged and attended the forum in Queanbeyan last year were simply shocked at how bad things were and the tragedy is that now things seem to be even worse.
“Lip service and false hope is all the Iemma Labor Government has been offering people in Queanbeyan who either suffer, or support, people with mental illness.
“Of most concern at the forum last year was the revelation by one community organisation that patients were being discharged from Kenmore hospital prematurely due to a shortage of beds and were referred to their care - yet the funding for the services this community organisation received came from the ACT Government.
“We have the situation where the NSW Government is referring patients to a service it refuses financially to support.
“As a result, many people who need case management and support in the community are simply not receiving it.
“Another major issue in Queanbeyan is the lack of access to counseling services. We heard the terrible situation of a young girl in desperate need of grief counseling but she was told that in Queanbeyan there was an eight week wait. Regrettably, this example is one of many.
“This financial year the Government was to have spent $51 million in capital works for mental health which has now been revised to just $21 million – a mere 40% of what it should have spent!
“The Government has been failing families in Queanbeyan desperate for access to vital mental health services for more than a decade.
“This track record means nothing will change under Labor. They can talk all they like but at the end of the day they have failed to give enough resources to vital mental health care and no amount of talking will make it easier for those suffering.
“The NSW Liberal/Nationals are committed to giving Mental Health the priority in deserves when in Government. We have already committed to giving a huge boost to community based services which are essentially non-existent in places like Queanbeyan,” Ms Berejiklian said.