MENTAL HEALTH

Mrs VLAHOS (Taylor) (14:49): My question is to the Minister for Mental Health and Substance Abuse. How is the government's mental health reform agenda helping to improve services available to South Australians suffering from mental illness?

The Hon. J.D. HILL (Kaurna—Minister for Health, Minister for Mental Health and Substance Abuse, Minister for the Southern Suburbs, Minister Assisting the Premier in the Arts) (14:49): I thank the member for Taylor for her question, and I acknowledge her keen interest in matters of health, particularly mental health. I would also like to congratulate the member for Taylor for joining me, the opposition health spokesman and many state and federal colleagues as ambassadors for the Exercise Your Mood Week at the current moment. This campaign is an initiative of the Black Dog Institute, which is a not-for-profit educational research, clinical and community facility that specialises in depression and bipolar disorder.

The campaign is aimed at highlighting the benefits that exercise can play in reducing the severity of depression through interrupting the inactivity cycle of depression, providing distraction from worrying, and improving sleep, fitness and energy and an increased sense of control while promoting social interaction—complex stuff. Exercise can also effect physical change as it promotes the release of endorphins, often described as the body's natural feel-good chemicals, and reduces the level of stress hormones. I would encourage all South Australians this week to get active and exercise, particularly those who suffer from depression and mood disorders.

As you would know, Madam Speaker, the government works closely with many non-government organisations in the mental health sphere and these partnerships help to supplement what is a good mental health system in our state. There were a number of positive results of South Australia in the latest Australian Institute of Health and Welfare report into mental health services in August 2007-08, which was released earlier last month.

Members will be pleased to know that, per capita, South Australia has the highest number of specialised mental health hospital beds of any state or territory at 37.7 beds per 100,000 of our population; the highest number of public mental health staff at 154.4 per 100,000 of our population; the highest number of mental health salaried medical officers at 14.5 per 100,000 of our population; and the highest number of mental health public nurses at 78 per 100,000 of our population.

The recurrent expenditure in South Australia on specialised mental health services was $173.23 per capita, which is well above the national average of about $156. While we can be pleased with these figures, we understand that there is a lot more that needs to be done. As members of this house would know, the government is implementing a significant reform of our mental health system in this state with over $300 million being spent to improve mental health, including the new 129-bed Glenside Hospital and the 10 limited treatment centre beds in country South Australia.

With the reforms identified in the 'Stepping up' report, we are moving towards more services in the areas of intermediate care and supported accommodation to assist people with mental illness to step between levels of care. So we have done very well in the past in acute services but we need to do more in the sub-acute area. This includes 60 beds in four new intermediate care centres and 30 intermediate care places in country South Australia. There are also 73 supported accommodation places which will now be increased by a further 80 places as a result of the successful COAG funding bid, bringing the total to over 150.

We are also building six community mental health centres that will enable people to directly access assistance in a timely manner. The first of these community mental health centres will be part of the Marion GP Plus which will open early next year. By having intermediate care options available in South Australia for the first time it will assist people with mental illness to step between levels of care. This should result in an overall reduction in the amount of acute hospital care required. The first of the government's intermediate care centres will open at Glenside in October this year.

The positive results in the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare report places South Australia in a very good position for the continuing reform of our mental health system. Finally, I congratulate Mark Butler on his promotion to federal Minister for Mental Health and Ageing. I have worked closely with Mark in his role as Parliamentary Secretary for Health and I am absolutely certain he will bring the same level of vigour and spirit of cooperation to his new role.