CORONIAL INQUESTS

The Hon. R.D. LAWSON (15:14): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Mental Health and Substance Abuse a question about coronial inquests.

Leave granted.

The Hon. R.D. LAWSON: The Coroner's annual report for 2007 was recently tabled in this council. Somewhat confusingly, the covering letter, signed by the Coroner, is dated October 2006, and the document itself states that the report covers the period up to 30 June 2006. A subsequent erratum has corrected the second error but not the first. My questions relate to recommendations made by the Coroner and referred to in his annual report. I specifically refer to two recommendations, the first of which states:

That a panel of senior psychiatrists be established to undertake a periodic review of the medical files of patients with chronic mental illness whose longitudinal history is deemed to be essential knowledge for those who are required to manage the patients in the future. The periodic reviews should result in the production of a comprehensive summary, made available either electronically or in hard copy, to psychiatric units in public hospitals, as well as community and crisis assessment teams.

A second recommendation from another inquest states:

That provision be made to increase the number of closed ward extended care beds available at Glenside Hospital (or a suitable alternative facility) for persons with chronic mental illness who have not responded sufficiently to treatment in an acute facility and who are deemed unsuited to management in the community.

My questions are:

1. Have each of those recommendations be implemented and, if not, why not?

2. When will they be implemented?

The Hon. G.E. GAGO (Minister for Environment and Conservation, Minister for Mental Health and Substance Abuse, Minister Assisting the Minister for Health) (15:16): Coronial inquiry reports are valuable documents in terms of the sorts of recommendations that come out of them and the advice and direction they give us in terms of future planning of our health services. I would need to check with the department, but I believe that at this time we are putting together a response to those recommendations and that it will be made available. I would have to double-check on the timing of that response because I am not absolutely sure, but I am happy to bring back that information if it is something other than I have said.

In terms of the increase in the number of mental health beds, I take this opportunity to point out that this government has committed to a reform, a complete overhaul, and a rebuilding and redesign of our mental health system throughout South Australia, which was left in an appalling state by the former Liberal government. The government has committed $107.9 million to address the issues of concern raised in the Stepping Up report, which was a watershed report completed by Monsignor Cappo and the Social Inclusion Board.

The outcome of that reform agenda will increase by 86 the number of adult mental health beds across the system in South Australia. We have a plan of action and money set aside to increase the number of mental health beds available. In line with the Social Inclusion Board's report, those beds will be allocated in a stepped system. We are reforming and rebuilding our forensic mental health system, and redeveloping secure and intensive beds at the Glenside campus. There is also a range of stepped levels of care and intervention.

The overall net effect will be a much stronger focus on early intervention and prevention. We believe that this reform agenda will deliver an outcome that will help to prevent people from becoming seriously and chronically unwell and needing to be in closed and locked wards. It will enable much earlier intervention and enable us to break the cycle of people having to become seriously unwell before they can access a hospital bed.

As we know, currently in South Australia we have one of the highest proportions of acute mental health beds in the system but inadequate supports for people in the community and rehabilitation. Our reform agenda plans to address and overcome that situation. We will end up with more beds in the system and, as I said, with a mental health system with a much stronger focus on early intervention and prevention, in the hope that we can reduce our reliance on those acute beds.