The government response to the Peel region’s youth suicide crisis is emerging as a key election battleground, with both major parties agreeing to fund a new youth health hub, but fighting over how to best deliver support services to at-risk youth.
On Thursday mental health minister Andrea Mitchell announced details of a $1 million youth mental health service to run out of Peel Health Campus.
Called Hospital in the Home, the trial would provide specialist support to as many as 130 children and adolescents, providing clinical care to young patients as an alternative to hospital admission.
Ms Mitchell said this new model of in-home service would be preferred by many younger patients and said the program would help parents with children who could not be accommodated in hospitals, but who at times needed crisis help and resorted to calling the police in emergencies.
“The plan is that we will offer this service as a youth hospital in the home, so young people rather than having to be in hospital for a mental illness, they could receive the same medical service but in their own home,” she said.
“We’ve chosen the Peel...because of the community’s supportive approach to youth mental health issues and we believe you will welcome this announcement and take it on board and if we can be successful in this project, we will take it to other places around Western Australia.”
But she rejected suggestions the timing of the announcement was designed to allay community concerns before an election.
“I would say that what we've tried to do is find something that hasn’t been done before, just so we don’t keep doing the same thing,” she said.
Mandurah MP David Templeman said he was “disgusted with this minister, this Liberal Government and this announcement”.
In January, Labor said they would fund the Peel Youth Medical Service’s 3-Tier Youth Mental Health Program, which would include school presentations from former Fremantle Dockers player Heath Black, offer workshops and counselling for at-risk students and young people.
“The point is this announcement has come out of nowhere,” Mr Templeman said.
“When WA Labor pointed out about the appalling resourcing of mental health services in the region as late as November last year, she [Mrs Mitchell] said the area was adequately serviced.
“The Minister claimed that the Mental Health Commission provided funding to four service providers that provide 24 hour, seven days-a-week support to teenagers.
“None of these services are in Mandurah, they are all Perth based.
“Now in the dying days of the government she suddenly shows some interest in the serious plight of young people and their mental health needs in the region.”
Dawesville Liberal candidate Zak Kirkup denied the Hospital in the Home trial would be too little, too late.
“To me, to have a pioneering trial to address mental health, a million dollars in one year to make sure we can service 130 kids, I think is a fantastic outcome for our community,” he said.
“This will be a seismic shift in our approach to mental health and specific to our community, it’s going to have a massive impact.
“I don’t think it's too little too late in the sense that so much money is spent on mental health in Western Australia, $840 million, but to me it’s important that we never rest in trying to deliver better services.”
Support is available by calling Kids Helpline on 1800 551 800, Lifeline on 131 114, or beyondblue on 1300 22 46 36.
Nathan Hondros
Senior Journalist for the Mandurah Mail, Australian Community Media, and Fairfax Media.
Senior Journalist for the Mandurah Mail, Australian Community Media, and Fairfax Media.
