Answers to Questions

Urgent Mental Health Care Centre

217 The Hon. S.L. GAME ().8 February 2023). Can the Minister for Health and Wellbeing advise:

1. In relation to Neami's Urgent Mental Health Care Centre on Grenfell Street:

(a) What is the average monthly patient visitation of the Urgent Mental Health Care Centre?

(b) What capacity per month was the centre intended to assist in forward planning?

(c) What capacity per month is the centre currently funded and staffed at?

2. In the event that the centre is not currently operating at budgeted capacity:

(a) What is the government's plan to increase usage of the Urgent Mental Health Care Centre?

(b) How can the centre be reformatted to include young people (teenagers) while capacity is not optimised?

(c) What other initiatives does the government have for urgent/acute mental health care for young people (teenagers) in metropolitan and regional South Australia?

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Attorney-General, Minister for Industrial Relations and Public Sector): The Minister for Health and Wellbeing has advised that:

1. (a) As of 31 December 2022, there has been an average of 473 referrals per month to the centre since 1 July 2022, or an average 15.4 per day.

1. (b) The centre's capacity is to provide services for up to 24 people per 24-hour period.

1. (c) From March 2022 the Urgent Mental Health Care Centre, has been staffed and funded to accept people 24/7, 365 days a year to meet the needs of 24 people.

2. (a) The Department for Health and Wellbeing is currently working with the supplier to increase usage by:

Working closely with key stakeholders on referral pathways and access eg SAAS and SAPOL.

Monthly governance meetings.

Investing in marketing to improve the centre's public visibility.

2. (b) The centre's target group includes young people aged 16 years and over. The scope of practice for the clinicians, model of care and building design were developed for this age group. The equivalent service for people under the age of 16 years is Headspace. The federal government has also committed to a Head to Health Centre focused on a younger cohort.

3. (c) Other initiatives for young people include:

An additional six speciality mental health nurses at the Women's and Children's Hospital.

Recruitment of an additional 10 child psychologists and five child psychiatrists working in the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service.

Women's and Children's Hospital—an additional 10 mental health beds for the new hospital.

Employing a central pool of 100 new mental health and learning support specialists to work at public primary and secondary schools, to ensure students and teachers get the help they need.