PROMISES continue to be made for mental health access in regional Victoria, but staffing remains a challenge said a peak body leader.
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A year on from the Royal Commission into Victoria's Mental Health Care System has been a slow process.
Grampians Health acting chief executive Ben Kelly said the process of change was a complex one, but progress is being made.
"We would all like all of those things to be implemented immediately," he said.
"Regrettably, there is a lot of planning into it. There are some levels of interpretation of the Commission's meaning in some of the reporting and if not, try to understand what it means how to how to enact it.
"A lot of that work happening essentially at the Department of Health level, obviously in consultation with service providers, with consumers and with carers.
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"There is progress, but you can't see it on the ground."
On March 2, the Victorian Government announced 21 Local Adult and Older Adult Mental Health and Wellbeing Services.
One of these "front door services" is set to open in Horsham in 2023.
These will provide early intervention support for adults experiencing mental illness or psychological distress without needing a referral from a GP and before people need a clinical hospital emergency department.
"This announcement will deliver new services that are sorely needed, with 'front doors' to the mental health system to make sure nobody faces barriers to getting support, no matter where they live," minister for mental health James Merlino said.
Mr Kelly said health services "welcome" announcements like this.
"There is an overwhelming demand that mental health creates for general practitioners," he said.
"What this does is broadens the availability and accessibility of mental health services."
Mr Kelly said the most significant challenge for mental health service in regional Victoria was getting people to fill jobs.
"There is an absence of an ability to fill all of our positions," he said.
We've got a very dedicated and committed workforce, but we still need more in order to be able to support what is a burgeoning need and continues to increase given the demands of the pandemic.
- Ben Kelly, Grampians Health acting CEO
"We've got a very dedicated and committed workforce, but we still need more in order to be able to support what is a burgeoning need and continues to increase given the demands of the pandemic.
"It's a balance between finding people who are suitable to be able to do the role and do the job well and to achieve the outcomes."
Earlier in February 2022, the shadow minister for mental health, Emma Kealy, spoke in parliament about the mental health crisis, pinpointing workforce issues.
"It does not make any difference who you are, you cannot get a mental health worker to see you," she said.
"There is simply no one in Victoria. This is not a problem that was created overnight. This is not just something that arrived when we saw the tome of the report from the Royal Commission into Victoria's Mental Health System. That was not when the crisis started.
"This has to change. We can no longer just get media releases as a Band-Aid for a problem and statements that are, quite frankly, rubbish. Listen to Victorians. They deserve a healthcare system they can access, and they deserve it now."
Grampians Health is actively recruiting for staff.
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