REGIONAL MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES

The Hon. J.S. LEE (15:20): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for the Status of Women questions about teenage girls in regional communities.

Leave granted.

The Hon. J.S. LEE:The Advertiser reported on 16 August that teenage girls in regional South Australia suffered from depression at twice the rate of boys, according to an Adelaide University study. The study showed that, of 531 teens in South Australia aged between 13 and 18 years old, 23 per cent of girls, or about one in four, suffered depression compared with 11 per cent of boys.

Adelaide University senior psychology lecturer and co-author, Dr Rachel Roberts, said that the findings were significant, given that male depression in country areas received significantly more attention. She said that it was particularly concerning that these teenagers experienced frequent thoughts of self-harm. Dr Roberts continued, to say that this research suggests that depression remains an issue of considerable concern amongst South Australian rural adolescents, especially within remote areas that have fewer qualified mental health professionals and services. My questions are:

1. As the Minister for the Status of Women, has the minister met with the Minister for Mental Health to ensure that preventions are introduced to reduce the percentage of young girls suffering from depression?

2. How will the minister help to raise awareness of teenage girls' depression in regional communities?

3. What form of assistance will the state government provide to improve the availability of mental health professionals and services to regional communities?

The Hon. G.E. GAGO (Minister for Agriculture, Food and Fisheries, Minister for Forests, Minister for Regional Development, Minister for Tourism, Minister for the Status of Women) (15:22): I thank the honourable member for her most important question. Indeed, the issue of body image, particularly amongst young women, and particularly those women in remote regional areas, is of grave concern. We know that body image can be a particular problem amongst young people; young men can suffer from this as well, but it is particularly an issue for young women. This often distorts eating behaviour, so it can lead to eating disorders, as well as to a range of other issues.

In terms of the sorts of services South Australia provides, a report was recently released on South Australian specialist eating disorder services, which outlined the new statewide model of care that was informed by national and statewide reviews, best practice guidelines, existing evidence of practice and discussions with key stakeholders. The Department for Health and Ageing has established and implemented a committee to progress the report's key priorities, and members of the Body Image and Eating Disorder Consortium, including the Office for Women and Office for Youth, will monitor and provide support for the implementation of the final strategic plan for body image and eating disorders in South Australia. They will continue to provide support and delivery of annual forums and other activities.

The Australian government has invested quite a lot of money in this area as well and I will not outline their activities. Of course, in terms of mental health services, we know that this government has outdone previous governments in its spending and commitment to the development of comprehensive mental health strategies and services. For the first time, we have provided levels of care that were never provided in this state before, such as intermediate care and other longer rehabilitation services.

We are opening 24 dedicated mental health beds in country South Australia and they are located across a number of different country areas. Intermediate care services are also available for the first time in some country areas and the commonwealth government recently announced 159 beds and places for our state's mental health system and new 10-bed community rehabilitation centres to be established in Whyalla and Mount Gambier. Again, as I said, unprecedented mental health services are being developed for our country areas.

In terms of youth suicide, obviously young people's health and wellbeing are a key priority for the Office for Youth, and it is an area for action for Youth Connect and the government of South Australia's new strategy to respond to the needs of young people in relation to mental health and suicide. The office has partnered with and funded a number of organisations to undertake a range of activities, including a partnership with Youth beyondblue to deliver a national youth week, and grant funding is provided to organisations to deliver events for young people across South Australia, including country areas, to promote the theme of Look Listen Talk and Seek Help.