ROWAN HOLZBERGER, FEDERAL MEMBER FOR FORDE: Thank you for coming this morning. My name is Rowan Holzberger. I'm the new Federal Member for Forde where this awesome facility sits. In a moment, I'd just like to introduce the Honourable Emma McBride, the Assistant Minister for Mental Health and Suicide Prevention. Emma, thank you very much for coming today.
headspace and others- I was talking to a couple of the workers here earlier. I don't want to over-dramatise things too much, but headspace saved my son's life. When he was going to high school, he copped a bit of a hard time. He's a bit older now, he got through it, but he got through it because of headspace. I really believe that. He checked himself out of high school one day and walked down the road, and checked himself into a headspace clinic and he was there for a number of years. And it really- it saved his life. And having it there so close that he could actually walk there and find it is why he's here today. Not because it was a long way away, not because he found it difficult to find it, but because it was there. He knew it was there. He was able to find it. So headspace really is huge part of my family's story.
I think, without stealing any of the thunder that's coming, and it's a good bowl of thunder that's coming, because as Minister McBride is saying, this government is putting mental health at the heart of Medicare. You cannot separate your mental health from your physical health. And I think that these days in our community, we know that people are doing it tough. They're doing it hard mentally and need a bit of help. So, Minister McBride, thank you very much for coming today, and you are very welcome here.
ASSISTANT MINISTER EMMA MCBRIDE: Thank you very much. Thank you, Rowan, and thank you for sharing your personal story. And that is the story of so many parents and families right around the country. headspace is Australia's national and trusted place for young people to seek mental health and support, and I was so pleased in the election to be able to secure a billion dollars for our investment in expanding and strengthening mental health services right across the country. We now have 172 headspaces nationally. On the Gold Coast, you have two: one where we are today in Upper Coomera, and another one in Southport. And I'm pleased to be able to let you know, in addition to headspace Southport becoming one of the first headspace Pluses, the new model of care to better meet the complex needs of young people today, headspace here in Upper Coomera has also received in demand management funding – more than $462,000 to support the work that you do with so many young people today. We know that young people aged 16 to 24 in Australia have the highest prevalence of mental ill health, and in any 12-month period, two in five young people will experience mental health distress. There's lots of different drivers of that mental health distress, but what we know is that headspace is a trusted place where young people feel and have the wraparound support that they need to be able to thrive. And hearing from the staff today about the previous demand management funding went towards being able to recruit a new mental health worker, and also a cultural coordinator to make sure that when headspace is working with communities that they're connected, that we're culturally responsive and safe, and also to be able to reduce the wait times. And here, headspace has introduced, as they call it, that there’s sort of single session, which means that when a young person comes in they can work with them about why are you here today, what can we help you with. And that's been able to dramatically reduce wait times and mean that young people can get the help they need sooner and closer to home.
The other announcement that I have today is, as part of, as Rowan has said, putting mental health into the heart of Medicare and services into the heart of communities, I'm pleased to announce that there will be a Medicare Mental Health Centre on the Gold Coast. This is a really important day for the community of the Gold Coast and people and families right across your region. What it will mean is free walk-in mental health support and care for everybody. As a mental health clinician myself and someone who worked in acute inpatient services, what I saw was too many people in distress ending up in crisis because they couldn't get the support they needed sooner and close to home. With this model of Medicare Mental Health Centres, and one that will be established right here in in the northern Gold Coast, will mean that you'll be able to walk in without an appointment. You won't need a mental health treatment plan, and you'll be able to get support for free. And this’ll be one of 91 nationally, 23 here in Queensland, and one right here on the Gold Coast. And it'll be up and running probably by the middle of next year, because we're trying to roll out these services rapidly around the country to meet the needs of local people. And I'll be in Brisbane tomorrow opening three more Medicare Mental Health Centres as part of this commitment to bring mental health into the heart of Medicare and services into the heart of communities to make sure that wherever you live, whatever circumstances that you find yourself in, you'll be able to get the support and care you need.
So, a big boost for headspace here for young people aged 12 to 25, and a big expansion of free mental health services for all people on the Gold Coast through the new Medicare Mental Health Centre, which will be up and running in the middle of next year. And I want to thank Rowan for his advocacy and for sharing his personal story. It's through the advocacy of strong local members and communities that we're able to these services where people need them.
In terms of the location, that'll be part of a co-design process to make sure that it's located conveniently, accessibly, and where people can reach it. But I'm so pleased to know that Open Minds has been commissioned to deliver the new Gold Coast Medicare Mental Health Centre, a trusted provider of quality services and that we know will do a brilliant job in this community. I'm happy to take questions.
JOURNALIST: How needed is this new facility that will open next year?
MCBRIDE: We have seen the demand here on the Gold Coast, and particularly here in Upper Coomera with the growth in this community, and the distress and pressure that people are feeling. As I mentioned, nationally we see that the people most impacted by mental ill health are young people aged 16 to 24. And so we know that if we can get the investment earlier and the support sooner, that those young people have the best chance to be able to thrive and the duration impact of their mental health will be far reduced. So, a lot of need in this community, which is why we're investing so heavily here. But part of a national network – and I should mention that all of these centres, the Medicare Mental Health Centres, will be linked to a national virtual network of psychologists and psychiatrists. So if you work into the Medicare Mental Health Centre in the Northern Gold Coast and you need to see a specialist or psychiatrist, that'll also be available to you and importantly for free.
JOURNALIST: The mental health plans are really valuable to so many people as well, but did you find that was just not enough and that's why we're doing this now for people?
MCBRIDE: What we found is that when we looked at the plans and the services that people could receive through Better Access that the people who most needed it were often missing out, because there wasn't a psychologist available in their community or that there wasn’t- they had to wait a long time or to pay out of pocket. So, at the same time, what we're trying to do is then build a network of support and care. And the benefits of these centres, in particular, the Medicare Mental Health Centres, will be that you don't need a referral. So you don't need to wait to see a GP to get a mental health treatment plan to be able to start that support and care.
Also, I should mention that on 1 January next year will be another big step in access to mental health support and care in Australia, our new National Early Intervention Service, where people across Australia will be able to, via telehealth, be able to access a trained mental health worker, again, free of charge, expert care, and when they need it. So, as a former mental health worker myself and responsible for mental health and suicide prevention nationally, what I am working to do is reduce any barrier to someone accessing support and care. So wherever they live and whatever their circumstances, it'll be there for them.
So, a boost to headspace funding right here in Upper Coomera, headspace Plus in Southport, and a new Medicare Mental Health Centre in the north of the Gold Coast within the next 12 months responding to the growing demand, the local need, and really providing services for everybody whatever their circumstances.
JOURNALIST: And what do you hope to see? What do you want to come from the new space?
MCBRIDE: What I really want to see, as Rowan has described of his own child's experience or young person's experience, that wherever you live and whatever the distress you're experiencing, that there will be a service that is available to you when you need it and free. And I think that will make the biggest difference. As I said, I worked for nearly 10 years as a clinician in an acute adult mental health inpatient unit, and what I saw was distress that had escalated to crisis and someone brought in by ambulance or police and having long stays in acute inpatient units. What we know is that distress is growing in our communities. We want to reduce those drivers of distress, and a big part of that is access sooner and closer to home.
JOURNALIST: Do you have any details about the facilities opening in Brisbane tomorrow as well?
MCBRIDE: Yes, we do. So the Medicare Mental Health Centres that will be opening tomorrow, one will be in Brisbane North, in Strathpine, and in Caboolture. As I said, this is part of three new ones that are opening. There's existing ones closest to here in Logan and in Ipswich, and what we've seen already is the big demand for these centres when they have been opened and also the safe and quality care that people are receiving.
And another part of that that I should mention is peer workers. We know that sometimes the best support and care that you can receive is from someone who has their own lived experience, someone who's walked in your shoes. So typically, if you walk into a Medicare Mental Health Centre of the 43 that are now open across the country, you're likely to be greeted by someone who's had a similar experience. That really gives people that trust and confidence in the centres and in what they can receive. If somebody does need information and advice, they can get it on the spot. If they do need more ongoing care for complex needs, that can also be made available to them. So the Medicare Mental Health Centres are staffed by multidisciplinary teams of people with their own lived experience and also clinicians, like you would see, so social workers, psychologists, to make sure that people get that best wraparound support and care to meet their needs and to set them up to thrive.
JOURNALIST: If someone needs ongoing treatment after the initial chat to someone, will that still be available to them for free, or will it cost something?
MCBRIDE: Yes, that will be available to them for free, because we know that sometimes people need it. And talking to headspace staff here today, typically, young people who come to headspace here in Upper Coomera come for about three visits. So we want to make sure that someone- it might be that someone is in distress and wants some information or advice, or someone might need more ongoing care. So that'll also be made available to them. And importantly, if they do need to be linked in with other services, that's also able to be done in a warm handover to make sure that there's continuity of care, so people aren't retelling their stories, and then they get that wraparound care, which is why when we introduce these services, they're done in a co-design process to look at where the existing services are, what the gaps are, and how this investment can be best utilised to fill those gaps in services and meet the growing needs.
Thank you, everybody.