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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2023-05-04 Daily Xml
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Question Time

Mental Health Services

Ms WORTLEY (Torrens) (14:46): My question is to the Minister—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

Ms WORTLEY: My question is to the Minister for Health and Wellbeing. Can the minister update the house on the progress of the government's commitment to providing more mental health services across the system?

The Hon. C.J. PICTON (Kaurna—Minister for Health and Wellbeing) (14:47): I thank the member for Torrens and acknowledge her interest in improving mental health services in her electorate and across the state. We know how important it is to increase the mental health services that are available, which are significantly under pressure right through Adelaide but also in regional areas across the state. It is also a significant contributing factor to congestion and access block that we see in our hospital system where many people get stuck for many days waiting for mental health beds to be available.

One of the key commitments we took to the last election—in fact, it was the centrepiece of the campaign launch for the now Premier—was to invest in additional mental health beds right across the state. Key to that were 72 additional new mental health rehabilitation beds. We had listened to the College of Psychiatrists, and the College of Emergency Medicine as well, who raised the need for these beds with us as key ways of helping to free up the acute side of mental health beds we have in our system, allowing people to get longer and better treatment in our system and building that capacity.

We have now been working with mental health stakeholders, with clinicians, with people with lived experience, on devising a model of care as to how those 72 beds are going to be delivered. That is now out for public consultation, and I encourage anyone who is interested to play a part in terms of that public consultation and have their say on this matter. It is vital that we hear how they should be delivered, what is the best way for them to be delivered.

Those will be delivered—I know the member for Torrens will be particularly interested, as well, of course, as the member for Newland and the member for King—in 24 beds at the Modbury Hospital as well as 24 beds at The QEH and at Noarlunga Hospital, making up those 72 beds.

As well as those investments in the acute side of the system, we know that is not the only issue where we need to address mental health capacity in our system, and I was very glad that the Minister for Local Government, in recent days, was able to represent me in opening up a new service at Port Pirie that is providing significant services for people in that region for the first time.

This is the mental health alternative care service which will be opened at the Port Pirie allied health building, the old Port Pirie hospital building adjacent to the hospital site, providing an alternative avenue for people to seek mental health assistance other than going to an emergency department. People will be able to see either mental health clinicians or peer workers at that service who will be able to provide support but also referring to other mental health supports as well.

This will be open Monday to Friday at that service, and people can drop in or call ahead to have that service. That is a great ability for people in regional areas to have an alternative other than going to an emergency department. I note the Minister for Local Government's strong personal passion for improving mental health services and thank him for his contribution to that.

One other significant area in terms of mental health which I think is worth noting as well is that we are also—this is delivery of another election commitment—expanding the role that our pharmacists can play in terms of mental health first aid. We know that our community pharmacists are often the first line where people will seek treatment in our community and see healthcare workers of any description, and our pharmacists have been eager to have their skills upgraded in terms of mental health first aid.

We have now started the rollout of approximately $350,000 over four years to provide mental health first aid training to pharmacists and pharmacy staff. That is going to be rolled out to approximately 1,000 staff, and I am glad to say that the first of those in-person training sessions were starting today.

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