Mental health gets wings: Royal Flying Doctor Service program boost

As despair over drought increases, mental health experts will fly out to help remote NSW residents cope.

The Royal Flying Doctor Service will get $750,000 this year to enhance the program it offers to communities in isolated areas of NSW.

Mental health experts will fly out to help distressed rural inhabitants in remote NSW cope with the severity of the drought, in a program aimed at early intervention and prevention.

The state’s Minister for Mental Health, Bronnie Taylor, today announced the government will provide $750,000 this year to the Royal Flying Doctor Service to enhance the program it offers to communities in isolated areas of NSW.

The program is a partnership with suicide prevention group Lifeline’s regional Broken Hill Country to Coast operation.

The move comes amid reports of increasingly despair in parts of the country where drought has cut the income of farmers, with a flowthrough to local economies.

The NSW Farmers association recently held its annual conference on the topic, urging farmers to keep an eye on their friends and neighbours, and ask if they were okay if they demonstrated concerning behaviour.

Mrs Taylor said the funding will provide essential mental health support in at-risk rural and remote communities.

“I am passionate about providing accessible services to those who need it,” Mrs Taylor said.

“By providing additional support to the Royal Flying Doctor Service’s peer support programs, we are able to support more individuals, families and communities in need,” she said.

“We know access to early intervention and prevention mental health services can be very difficult for people in isolated areas to access. That’s why the services provided by the Royal Flying Doctor are so critical in overcoming the challenges that distance presents.”

Royal Flying Doctor Service South Eastern Section chief executive Greg Sam said the task was especially important in remote areas where “there is a reluctance to seek help, which contributes to higher levels of mental distress.”

“Not only does the Royal Flying Doctor Service provide direct mental health support through face-to-face clinical services and psychological support by phone or email, we also promote mental health and wellbeing support through prevention and early intervention initiatives to address community needs,” Mr Sam said.

Today’s announcement was about “enabling people on the land to give a hand to others in need,” he said.

This funding is part of the $8.3 million allocated in the Emergency Drought Package to improve access to and delivery of mental health services in rural and remote communities.