Motions

Urgent Mental Health Care Centre

The Hon. S.L. GAME (16:39): I move:

That this council—

1. Calls upon the Malinauskas government to urgently launch a targeted and comprehensive advertising campaign to ensure widespread public awareness of the Grenfell Street Urgent Mental Health Care Centre's existence, purpose and services provided; and

2. Acknowledges that due to lack of public awareness, the centre is underutilised, which increases suicide risks and places additional pressure on emergency departments, compounding our already at-crisis ramping issue.

On 2 May 2023, the Attorney-General affirmed that Neami's Urgent Mental Health Care Centre on Grenfell Street is experiencing significant underutilisation. This outcome does not come as a surprise to me, as I initially voiced my concerns about the general community's lack of awareness regarding the centre's presence back in October 2022.

The centre has been in operation for over two years, opening in March 2021, and as of 31 December 2022 there has been an average of 473 monthly referrals to the centre since 1 July 2022, or an average of 15.4 referrals a day, yet the centre has the capacity to provide services for up to 24 people a day. The centre's underutilisation is indicative of a larger issue regarding mental health care in our community and it is imperative that the Malinauskas government takes immediate and decisive action to improve the advertisement and accessibility of this crucial facility.

We are in the midst of a mental health crisis and it is our duty as elected representatives to ensure that our constituents have access to the care and support they need. In October 2022, I informed this council that I was yet to meet anyone outside of the mental health field who is actually aware of this centre, and nine months later nothing has changed. The lack of awareness of the centre compounds the already crisis-level issue of ramping. Inaccessible high barrier systems like GPs, psychiatrists and psychologists exacerbate the problem by subjecting patients to unacceptable wait times when in crisis.

Unfortunately, people resort to drastic measures such as attempting suicide or worse and presenting themselves in emergency departments, simply because they do not know where else they can go. The underutilisation of the centre is not due to a lack of demand but rather a failure of the government to advertise it properly.

This week is Men's Health Week, and I have told this council before that men make up more than three-quarters of deaths by suicide, yet only 25 per cent of men would seek help if they were experiencing personal or emotional problems. Men are the silent victims of domestic violence. Men are more likely than women to abuse illicit substances of all types. They are more likely to end up in emergency departments and die from overdoses. They are more than twice as likely to be killed in a car crash and far more likely to die at work.

Disparities between men and women are significant when considering the statistics of homelessness, educational outcomes, loneliness and suicide, as reported in The Advertiser on 9 June 2023. The article states that we have abandoned men, particularly young men, regarding their health, wellbeing and opportunities. Men in particular are less likely to already be in the mental health system when in crisis. Legal issues, high-risk employment, loss of employment, relationship breakdowns and other causes can lead to a situational crisis with devastating effects when the sufferer does not know where to go for immediate low barrier assistance.

Low barrier urgent mental health care facilities must be made more widely available and adequately publicised, so people know they exist. The government must launch a comprehensive advertising campaign, collaborating with mental health organisations and community leaders to raise awareness about the centre. It is essential to reach out to individuals, schools, universities, workplaces, organisations such as Relationships Australia and other stakeholders to promote mental health awareness and the services available.

Additional resources need to be allocated to extend the offering of low barrier systems such as this centre to be accessible by those who live in regional and rural areas. It is ridiculous that we only have one 24/7 centre to accommodate all South Australians who might be in need of urgent mental health care.

I am extremely passionate about this, having brought this up multiple times, and I will not stop checking in on the Malinauskas government until underutilisation of the centre is no longer an issue and all South Australians in a mental health crisis have somewhere to go. I reiterate that the Malinauskas government must take immediate action to improve the advertisement and accessibility of the Urgent Mental Health Care Centre. By implementing the measures outlined in this motion, we can make significant progress in addressing the mental health crisis and ensuring that all individuals in need have access to timely and appropriate care.

Debate adjourned on motion of Hon. J.E. Hanson.