Yorke and Northern Local Health Network

The Hon. G.G. BROCK (Stuart) (14:37): My question is to the Minister for Health and Wellbeing. Can the minister update my community as to whether we have any mental health beds or drug and alcohol units in our health network in the Yorke and Northern Local Health Network? With your leave and that of the house, sir, I will explain.

Leave granted.

The Hon. G.G. BROCK: In a recent media coverage, it was stated the government is getting 600 new hospital beds across the state and more than 130 of these will be specifically for mental health, and that Mount Gambier is doubling their mental health beds plus adding a two-bed drug and alcohol medically managed withdrawal facility. Can the minister update my community if there are any plans or requirements for these sorts of beds in our health network?

The Hon. C.J. PICTON (Kaurna—Minister for Health and Wellbeing) (14:37): I thank the member for his question and his strong interest and advocacy in terms of mental health and drug and alcohol rehabilitation services in his region—and he's right: we are investing in a number of different mental health projects right across the state. That does include in Mount Gambier, where we are soon to open another excellent piece of construction, which is our new mental health step-down unit at Mount Gambier hospital, which will provide six extra mental health beds, doubling the capacity of mental health at that hospital.

We are, of course, also investing in mental health care right across the state and, whether it's beds or additional resources, there are additional resources going into mental health to make sure that we've got the capacity for patients who have those needs. Particularly, in terms of the member's own region, there is a number of very innovative centres which have opened in recent years, which are providing mental health care to the community: one is that the Yorke and Northern Local Health Network themselves have opened a Mental Health Alternative Care Service. That opened two years ago. It's providing an ability for people to come and receive care for mental health conditions at that service without having to go to the emergency department.

In addition to that the federal government have invested, in cooperation with us through our bilateral arrangements on mental health and suicide prevention, in a new Medicare Mental Health Centre in Port Pirie. I was pleased to join the member for the opening of that service last year. That is a free drop-in mental health centre available for the community.

There is also, of course, a Lifeline Connect centre in Port Pirie as well and the government has provided Lifeline with a quarter of a million dollars to support both the Port Pirie and the Clare centres that they have opened as well.

In addition to that, in terms of our regional mental health services across the state, we have been investing in additional staffing. We have recruited additional psychiatrists for regional mental health care to provide services to all regional areas across the state. We have added additional services to help people in terms of older mental health in particular.

I am advised eight mental health nurses have been recruited across our regional local health networks to deliver specialised mental health services for older people, and I am advised that includes two additional nurses working in the Yorke and Northern local region as well. So there are a variety of different mental health services that are being provided.

Another thing that is important is we have been doing a lot of work in terms of trying to improve the pathway for people from country regions to metropolitan regions when they need to have a higher level of that mental health care provided. The member may be aware that there are dedicated resources at Glenside for regional and remote mental health services providing those services right across the state.

What we are seeing, through some of the reforms that have been underway in SA Health, is that we have been able to significantly increase the number of people who have been able to keep their mental health care journey within the country mental health care services, either by getting supported to stay in place close to their family or, secondly, by being able to get that care directly by going to the regional site at Glenside, without obviously impacting on metropolitan hospital emergency departments.

Not only is this important for those people themselves, because obviously that is a significant difficulty for people having to face that queue in a metro emergency department, but it is important for the system overall. That pathway of improvement that is happening for regional people to get access to care is also helping to improve regional mental health care services, including in the member's region.