Hospitals to feel the impact of mental health cuts, sector warns

Mental health groups are warning hospitals will feel the impact of a 25 per cent funding by the state government.

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Key mental health services will lose a quarter of their direct funding from July 1, prompting warnings from a peak body that more patients may instead rely on hospitals.

Next financial year, the State Government will transfer $6.8 million from local services to the National Disability Insurance Scheme to cater for more mental health patients moving onto the scheme.

It is understood the money will be taken from 10 non-government providers in SA.

The shift is based on estimates that 25 per cent of people using those services would be accepted into the NDIS.

Health Minister Stephen Wade said this had occurred but Mental Health Coalition of SA executive director Geoff Harris said the transfer rate had been slower than expected. He said many people had been deemed eligible but had not been approved or were still waiting for funds to flow.

South Australian Health Minister Stephen Wade. Picture: AAP Image/David Mariuz

Mental Health Coalition of SA executive director Geoff Harris.

Mr Wade said those who were ineligible for the NDIS “will continue to receive ongoing” support through State Government-funded NGOs.

But Mr Harris feared the 25 per cent funding shift would make this difficult as demand grew.

“There has been no reduction in demand for these (NGO) services as NDIS is rolling out,” he said.

“There’s waiting lists. At the end of the day, we’ll have 25 per cent less capacity in our mental health system for new people going forward. (That) will have a negative effect on our ability to support people to keep well in the community and out of hospitals.”

Mr Harris said SA Health had told the coalition that the proportion of people attending emergency departments for a mental health episode was rising 5 per cent each year.

In a letter to the coalition, Chief Psychiatrist John Brayley said current users of the state-based services would “continue to receive SA Health funding until their NDIS application is approved and their plan is activated”.

Mr Harris said there was uncertainty over how this would be managed. He questioned if the funding shift was necessary given the $1.6 billion underspend in NDIS funding revealed in the Federal Budget.

Dr Brayley’s letter noted that the effect of the funding shift would vary between programs because some had higher rates of people transferring to the NDIS.

Labor spokesman Stephen Mullighan shared concerns that more people could rely on hospitals if funding for local mental health services was reduced.

“If they’re not able to access the same level of services from these non-government services, then they’re likely to present in places like hospital emergency departments … when we’re about to enter the winter period and we’re in the middle of a horror flu season,” he said. Mr Mullighan said the funding shift was “punishing organisations for a problem that is not of their making”.