Auditor-General releases scathing report on Victorian mental health system

A scathing report into Victoria’s mental healthcare system has slammed the state government, saying the system is operating in “crisis mode” and failing to help Victorians stranded in emergency departments.

Victoria’s mental healthcare system is operating in “crisis mode” and an 80 per cent increase in beds is needed over the next decade to catch up with other states.

A scathing report by the Auditor-General reveals the state government has failed to address the lack of funding and infrastructure needed to support 1.2 million Victorians who suffer from mental illness every year.

ONE IN TEN YOUTHS SEEKING MENTAL HEALTH HELP

SUICIDE, SUPPORT TO HEADLINE ROYAL COMMISSION

The “significant unmet demand” means patients with mental health problems have waited too long for care or missed out completely, while others have had their treatment “compromised” by being rushed in and out of the system.

More than half of mentally ill patients were stranded in emergency departments for more than eight hours before getting a bed.

Auditor-General Andrew Greaves said the Andrews Government could not wait for this year’s royal commission into mental health to fix problems that had been identified in multiple reviews going back a decade.

“Further delay will only amplify the problems the commission seeks to address,” his report said.

Premier Daniel Andrews announces the mental health royal commission during last year’s state election campaign. Picture: Alex Murray (AAP)

While 45 per cent of Victorians will experience mental health problems during their lives, the Auditor-General found there had been a lack of planning to improve access to care, open more beds and employ more workers.

The report said per capita recurrent spending on mental healthcare in Victoria had gone backwards and was the lowest in Australia.

The Department of Health and Human Services accepted several recommendations for change but is delaying the implementation of most until after this year’s royal commission.

The government is already implementing 227 recommendations from a separate blueprint laid out by the family violence royal commission.

More than half of mentally ill patients were stranded in emergency departments for more than eight hours before getting a bed.

In a report released on Thursday, family violence reform implementation monitor Tim Cartwright warned the rollout of support and safety hubs — designed as “one-stop shops” to help victims with multiple services — had been “rushed” by the government.

Five of the 17 hubs opened last year, dealing with more than 20,000 individual cases by November, and a further three hubs are due to open this year.

Mr Cartwright said the delay creating a central information point — combining data from multiple government databases — was a key issue and forced staff to manually share paperwork while they waited for a fully-fledged electronic system.

He also raised concerns about family violence reforms still being “siloed within agencies”, and that the “heavy load” of changes was not being met by enough qualified and willing workers.

Prevention of Family Violence Minister Gabrielle Williams thanked Mr Cartwright for his report and said: “We’ve moved swiftly to protect women and children from family violence because we know there are times where they can’t wait for help.”

@tminear