Fears youths will die on waiting lists amid an emerging crisis in southwest Victoria
Mental health workers in regional Victoria have revealed the dire situation facing youths as wait times to see psychologists blow out.
Victoria
Don't miss out on the headlines from Victoria. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Vulnerable young teens in regional Victoria are being denied mental health care as waiting times blow out up to six months for psychologists, frontline workers say.
The Herald Sun can reveal senior mental health workers in the south west coast region fear youths will die on waiting lists amid an emerging crisis in the region.
Educators in Warrnambool and Portland fear the lack of mental health support in schools and the wider region has caused more incidents of self-harm, bullying and aggression.
School leaders have raised concerns about an increase in school refusals and students dropping out of school as young as 13 due the impacts of Covid lockdowns.
They say the south west coast has inadequate access to the state government’s Schools Mental Health Fund and Menu, which includes the GPs in secondary schools program.
Mental health plans and psychologist availability are primary care services, which are the responsibility of and funded by the Federal Government
Grieving Warrnambool mother, Tash Lambert, whose daughter Josie, 17, died of suicide in February while on a waitlist for counselling services, said she feared more young teens would die if the region continued to “deny” mental health care.
“Josie had her whole life ahead of her, we don’t want another family to go through this, we miss our beautiful girl,” Ms Lambert told the Herald Sun.
“Vulnerable children and teens should not be on a waitlist,” she said.
Warrnambool psychologist Dr Janine Bounds said the lack of mental health services in the region had reached “crisis point”.
“I currently have a two year waiting list,” Dr Bounds said.
“There needs to be more clinics who offer bulk billing as that’s created barriers for young people seeking support.
“There’s big waiting lists to see GPs in the region and the situation has become dire as they are the ones who write mental health plans.”
Dr Bounds said the average waiting list time to see psychologists in the region had blown out to six months.
She flagged a rise in bullying incidents of vulnerable and disabled students in schools and said she had written to the former and current state education minister, but her concerns had “fallen on deaf ears”.
“If something isn’t done soon to address these terrible problems, I fear more teens could lose their lives.”
Bayview College principal Dr Michelle Kearney said the number of mental health professionals in the southwest coast region had been “sorely lacking” and student attendance was at an all time low.
“Since Covid the emergence of more mental health issues amongst young people and their parents has increased,” Dr Kearney said.
“There’s young people looking for apprenticeships and alternative pathways from the end of year 8.”
Dr Kearney said the region desperately needed more mental health practitioners in schools, hospitals and other services.
A teacher, from a secondary school in the southwest coast, said many schools were unable to access specialised mental health programs.
“We’re seeing so much self-harm, bullying and aggression,”
“We also haven’t had a GP in the school for over 12 months and this was vital for students as it was a connection on the outside if they couldn’t get support at the school.”
South West Coast state Liberal MP Roma Britnell said “skilled and talented educators have been abandoned by the government” leaving parents unable to help their kids.
“The Minister for Education lists numerous programs that are meant to help the students, but there aren’t enough staff to run the programs … unless these programs can actually be implemented, it’s just window dressing,” Ms Britnell said.
Opposition Mental Health spokeswoman Emma Kealy said the government needed to commit to training thousands more mental health workers or waitlists will continue to grow.
“The devastating impacts of untreated mental illness and ill-health will harm more families in desperate need of care and support.”
A state government spokesman said “every suicide is one too many” and mental health support and treatment for young people was “one of our top priorities”.
“We’re putting dedicated mental health practitioners into every single government secondary school and investing billions to reform and rebuild our mental health and wellbeing system, to reduce the incidence and impact of suicide in Victoria.”
Federal Health Minister Mark Butler said: “The 2023-24 federal budget began to address these acute bottlenecks in the psychology training pipeline by providing $91.3 million over five years to incentivise universities to offer 500 additional postgraduate places.”
‘She would still be alive today’
Josie Pinheiro had the world at her feet.
The 17-year-old, from Warrnambool, loved drawing and spending time with her family and brothers Tiyler, 13, and Kane, 10.
The Warrnambool College student would visit the local skate park and ride her skateboard for hours on end.
She was a “joyful” teen and animal lover, who had dreams one day of owning a farm.
Josie had an intellectual disability, but her mother Tash Lambert, said it never stopped her from achieving her goals.
Ms Lambert said her daughter had moved from Warrnambool to Kelso, near Townsville in Queensland in November last year, to live with her boyfriend Daniel.
But just months later, on February 2, Josie took her own life while on a waitlist to access counselling services.
“Josie was on a waitlist for six months to see a counsellor in Warrnambool. If she had received that support I believe she would still be alive today,” Ms Lambert said.
“If she got that support in Warrnambool or Queensland, it would’ve made a difference.
“She would still be struggling, but that support would have been life-changing for her.”
Ms Lambert said waitlists for psychologists and counsellors in Victoria were unacceptable.
“If a child or young teen is suffering they should never have to wait for support,” she said.
“There are waitlists for GPs to get a mental health plan then after 10 sessions with a counsellor, you need another referral.
“Those barriers need to be removed – all mental support should be ongoing for those in need.”
Ms Lambert urged state and federal governments to provide mental health support in the south west region.
“Please think about the children who desperately need these services, their lives depend on it.
“Josie was the most beautiful girl, who was full of life and didn’t deserve this. We don’t want another family to ever go through this devastating loss.”
Landlord exodus hits as property listings skyrocket
Victorian landlords are exiting the market in droves with September property listings at their highest in almost a decade. See the areas they’re leaving.
Wheatbelt ire on proposed mines
More than half of Victoria is covered by mining exploration licenses, while the state’s wheatbelt farming families are fighting to stop projects going ahead.