MENTAL ILLNESS AND INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY TREATMENT

The Hon. K.L. VINCENT (15:14): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the minister representing the minister for mental health questions regarding the treatment of people with mental illness as well as intellectual disability.

Leave granted.

The Hon. K.L. VINCENT: I have been contacted recently by families whose loved ones are tied up in the mental health system but who are not getting appropriate care because of their intellectual disability not being taken into account during treatment. This is a very distressing situation which leads, as you can imagine, to totally ineffective treatment which is frustrating and often cruel to the patient. I have since begun looking into the area of mental health treatment for people who also have an intellectual disability, and I have been alarmed by the lack of specialist care available. My questions to the minister are:

1. What funding is available to deliver mental health care to clients of Community and Home Support SA?

2. What training placements are offered by government-run health institutions to allow registrars to gain expertise in the area of mental health treatment for people with intellectual disability?

3. What checks are done in government-run mental health institutions to ensure that patients with an intellectual disability are being appropriately treated?

4. What information is available to families, carers and people with an intellectual disability about how to get help for mental illness?

5. Will the minister commit to funding the services of at least one full-time psychiatrist to supply services to the clients of Community and Home Support SA?

The Hon. R.P. WORTLEY (Minister for Industrial Relations, Minister for State/Local Government Relations) (15:16): I thank the honourable member for her very important questions, and I will refer the five questions that she has asked to the minister for mental health (Hon. John Hill) in another place and get an answer back to her as soon as possible.