19 October 2005
Crumbling mental health care system needs leadership and resources
" Australia's mental health system is in crisis and can only be fixed by Federal, State and Territory Governments showing strong leadership on the issue and providing more resources for mental health services," Human Rights Commissioner Dr Sev Ozdowski said today.
Dr Ozdowski made the comments at the launch of a new report by the Mental Health Council of Australia and Brain and Mind Research Institute in association with the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC) titled 'Not for Service: Experiences of injustice and despair in mental health care in Australia'.
" Australia has made a commitment under international human rights law to provide the 'highest attainable standard' of mental health care. This commitment means that Australia should be setting the example for other countries to follow. However, this report demonstrates that while we have made many advances, there is still a long way to go," Dr Ozdowski said.
More than 10 years ago, HREOC conducted an inquiry into the rights of Australia's mentally ill and found multiple breaches of basic human rights ('The Burdekin Report'). In particular, the inquiry found that people were being inappropriately locked up in mental asylums and mistreated while they were there.
"In the interim, the mental health system has moved away from institutionalisation to care predominantly occurring in the community. While it is hard to disagree with this approach, the fact is that while institutions are being closed down, community supports are not being adequately built up," the Commissioner said.
"Commonwealth, State and Territory bureaucrats routinely report that work is underway to improve mental health services, but I have seen little real progress in the past three years in my role as federal Human Rights Commissioner.
"Some of the stories we heard from the consultations which make up this report demonstrated the incredible strength of the human spirit and perseverance of mental health professionals doing the best they could in the circumstances. However, the vast majority of stories described a crumbling mental health care system that has brought about anguish and desperation.
"In all States and Territories I received reports of: an absence of early intervention services for young people; children and young people being admitted to inappropriate adult facilities; community supports and emergency services often overburdened and inaccessible; and acute care services too often simply missing - especially in regional Australia. These are basic human rights issues and preventable deaths are occurring as a result of this lack of services."
The Commissioner said that the resources provided are simply inadequate to match the level of unmet needs and ensure access to treatment and services when they are needed.
"Governments are not sufficiently matching their words with dollars and accountability for the money they do allocate to mental health services is seriously lacking.
"It is also clear that there is a lack of political and departmental leadership on the issue. Federal , State and Territory Governments and their departments need to stop the blame game and start working together to drive real change and make mental health care an urgent priority."
Media contact: Paul Oliver (02) 9284 9880 or 0408 469 347
Last updated 19th October 2005.
