Mental health patient says Barwon Health phone upgrades hindered access

A mental health patient says he could not get through to Barwon Health supports for more than 24 hours as the organisation undergoes phone upgrades.

Professor Steve Moylan

A mental health patient says he could not get through to Barwon Health supports for more than 24 hours as the organisation undergoes phone upgrades.

Patient Brad, not his real name, on Tuesday morning said he had been trying to get through to the mental health triage team for more than 24 hours.

He said he left his number for a call-back but did not hear back.

He said he had also been unable to get though to the outreach team.

Brad said he had tried to get through via the Barwon Health switchboard, but could not be transferred successfully.

Brad said he had used Barwon Health with no issues before and not being able to get through to people he generally spoke to was making his mental health worse.

“(It’s) leaving people at risk of bad things happening,” he said.

He said he was able to make contact with the triage team on Tuesday morning via email after a number of attempts.

Barwon Health’s clinical director of mental health, drugs and alcohol services Steve Moylan said there were ongoing upgrades to its phone systems as part of an effort for continuous improvement in communications and technology.

“As part of these upgrades over the weekend, we’re aware of some temporary access issues to our phone lines,” Prof Moylan said.

“We can confirm that the phone queues are all working for the different phone lines, including the call back facility, while calls made to the switchboard are being diverted to the mental health call teams.

“There are no current known issues, and there are calls currently being taken across the different services.

“There are many factors at play when taking calls, such as the number of active staff taking calls, the other calls in progress, the time of day, and the manual processes and procedures required that can impact the ability of the team to get back to consumers.”

Barwon Health “offers 24/7 help, information or referral” via the mental health triage line, according to the organisation’s website.

It said anyone seeking support for issues relating to mental health, alcohol or other drugs was encouraged to call the triage phone number, 1300 094 187.

Originally published as Mental health patient says Barwon Health phone upgrades hindered access