Proserpine Mental Health Services new facility nears completion

As a brand-new hospital mental health facility nears completion in the Whitsundays, there are calls for money to be invested elsewhere to help reduce waitlists, and get patients in care before their needs are extreme.

Elise Dawson, Catherine McLaren, Alexander Dzidic and Clay Pearce at the new Proserpine Mental Health Services site. Picture: Estelle Sanchez

As a brand-new hospital mental health facility nears completion in the Whitsundays, there are calls for money to be invested elsewhere to reduce waitlists.

The construction of a purpose-built facility for mental health in Proserpine is underway as part of a $8m Queensland government commitment to upgrade the hospital.

To bring kidney dialysis services to the seaside town, mental health services had to be moved to a different location, at an old Proserpine gym.

The new Proserpine Mental Health facility is to open in August. Picture: Estelle

Works are well underway at the facility with services expected to benefit from seven consultation rooms instead of the three they currently have at the hospital.

Services should be operational in the new location by mid August.

Acting Office Director of Greater Whitsundays Mental Health Services Catherine McLaren said having a separate facility for hospital mental health patients was a positive outcome.

“People can come here discreetly without going through an entire hospital to get treatment or moderate illness,” she explained.

The new Proserpine Mental Health is to open in August. Picture: Estelle

The instalment of a better facility will improve services for those hospital mental health patients, but it won’t help tackle increasing waitlists for people seeking mental health support by GP referrals.

This comes as some people living in rural Queensland have to wait for a year to get an appointment with a psychologist.

For a mental health patient to be treated by hospital staff, they need to fit very specific criteria, and are most of the time redirected to their GPs.

“If it’s something mild like a depression, or a mild anxiety then there is the goal to always return people back to their community services,” Ms McLaren said.

“We wouldn’t admit everybody every time because we could get the equivalent of a sniffle coming in.”

Elise Dawson, Catherine McLaren, Alexander Dzidic and Clay Pearce at the new Proserpine Mental Health Services site. Picture: Estelle Sanchez

A Bowen psychologist had alerted Federal Minister for Health Mark Butler to the difficulties of catering to all his patients, and the fear of leaving an estimated 264 residents per year without the help they need due to a lack of staff.

Change needed at the federal level

Mental health is a primary concern for North Queenslanders, with reports of increased numbers of mental health conditions while the Federal Government is meeting just 35 per cent of its own workforce target for psychology, according to the Australian Psychological Society.

In its most recent budget, the federal government has announced a $338 million investment in the mental health sector, which was criticised as being ambitious without properly backed up by funding by the Australian Medical Association.

Queensland is doing it tough with numbers of psychologists available to the community, that are significantly lower than those in NSW.

APS President Dr Catriona Davis-McCabe said residents expect to see the government “invest in expanding the workforce”.

“More funding for psychology university places and paid prac placements is needed immediately if we are to address the shortfall in our workforce,” said Dr Davis-McCabe.

“75 per cent of the Australians report cost as one of their biggest barriers to accessing psychology services.

“During a cost-of-living crisis it is extremely disappointing patients will continue to face an average gap fee of $100.

“Too many people are using their credit card instead of a Medicare card to pay for their psychology treatment,” she said.