ALEX JAMES, HOST: Medicare Mental Health Centres in some regional areas are hoping to provide a range of support for adults facing short and medium term mental health challenges. You don't need an appointment, Medicare card or referral to access these services. You can walk in and it's free. Centres have opened their doors in a couple of places in our region, including Young and Bathurst. To tell us more, Emma McBride is the Assistant Minister for Mental Health and Suicide Prevention and the Assistant Minister for Rural and Regional Health. Minister McBride, thank you for joining us.
ASSISTANT MINISTER EMMA MCBRIDE: Good to be with you, Alex.
JAMES: So, can you tell me a bit about yesterday? I know that you were there in Bathurst opening up the centre. It all went well?
MCBRIDE: These centres are being- putting mental health into the heart of Medicare and quality care right into the centre of communities. So, in Bathurst yesterday, this centre will be operated by Stride in partnership with Clarity and Wellways. And what it will mean is that for your listeners, someone can, as you mentioned, walk in. They don't need a referral from a GP, although referrals are welcome. They won't need to make an appointment, and it's opened extended hours to be flexible to meet people's needs. On weekdays, it's open from 11am till 7pm, and on weekends and public holidays from 4pm till 8pm. And someone when they walk in are likely to be met, Alex, by someone who's walked in their shoes, someone with lived experience. And we know that is one of the best ways for someone to be able to feel supported and welcome and to start seeking support and care.
JAMES: So why operate these services like that? So you- I mean, with other services, as you mentioned, you need a referral. You need- sometimes you need a mental health care plan. So why take all of those things away?
MCBRIDE: Because what people are experiencing right across the country, including in regional communities like yours, was that when they needed care, they couldn't get it close to home when they needed it and affordably. We're trying to remove, through the design of Medicare Mental Health Centres, all of those barriers that stop people accessing care. I'm a pharmacist by background and I worked in the inpatient acute mental health units in a regional hospital, and I saw people in the community in distress who then ended up in crisis because they couldn't get the support sooner. So what these centres are designed to do is to remove those barriers so people can get support sooner.
JAMES: Okay, how did you decide where to put these services?
MCBRIDE: This is a very thoughtful process in looking at- there is need across the country and distress is rising, particularly amongst younger people. And so, the locations are decided – this is part of the National Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Agreement, and there's agreements with each state and territory – so they're carefully decided in consultation with the states and territories to make sure that we're putting them where they're accessible, where people will be able- where there is need and where we'll be able to make sure that people can get the care closer to home. So we opened one in Bathurst yesterday. There's one in Young. We'll be opening one in Dubbo in a couple of weeks’ time. So there'll be 32 centres in New South Wales and around 90 across the country, so trying to make sure that we have- with this network, we're bringing care closer to people, particularly in the regions.
JAMES: So, I mean, mental health and mental illness is a very, I guess, in a way it's a unique beast because you need trust in your practitioner, and then for some people you need ongoing care and you need to know that those people will continue to be there. As I mentioned in the intro, this will be for short and medium term mental health challenges. So, I guess, what does that mean? Does that mean that if someone goes once, that's a once off and that's it?
MCBRIDE: What it will mean is it'll be tailored to that person's individual needs, and also to support their family and carers. So someone may walk in for the first time and seek some information or advice. Someone may then need a follow-up or wraparound support and care. So all of these centres have a multidisciplinary care team, and what that means is there'll be people with their direct lived experience working with clinicians. So in Bathurst, there's a senior social worker, there's a senior psychologist, so if someone does need support that is more ongoing or more wraparound, that'll also be available to them and ongoing. It also means if someone does need support for other services that might be contributing to their distress – it might be concern about work or it might be about housing – that these centres can then work with those other drivers of distress and link them in with other services as well, so that the person gets that whole wraparound and holistic care, because there can be lots of different things contributing to or driving somebody's distress.
JAMES: What's the timeframe on this project? How long will this be funded for?
MCBRIDE: In the recent election, I was able to secure a commitment for more than a billion dollars for mental health and suicide prevention across the country. For this particular program, Medicare Mental Health Centres, an additional $225 million. And I'm pleased to let your listeners know that in the coming months, all of our centres – and there's 38, given that Bathurst was officially opened yesterday – there's 38 that are open already, but all of them will be connected to a virtual network of specialist psychologists and psychiatrists. So if someone does walk into the centre in Young and a psychologist isn't available at that time, or they need a psychologist with a certain speciality, they'll be able to have an appointment arranged for them for free with that psychologist or psychiatrist.
JAMES: So how long will these particular centres be open for?
MCBRIDE: This is an ongoing program with a four-year funding cycle under the National Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Agreement. So for example, the funding in Bathurst, the centre is co-funded by the Commonwealth and the New South Wales Government. Our contribution is $1.8 million over four years – the intention that this is an ongoing service. As you mentioned, trust and continuity is absolutely vital in mental health support, so that the individual and the community know that this service now it's opened will remain and they'll be able to get that support and care ongoing as and when they need it.
JAMES: We're coming up close to the news, but just quickly, is there scope to open more? You've got one in Dubbo, Bathurst and Young, or one about to open in Dubbo. Is there scope for more?
MCBRIDE: As I mentioned, in the recent election, I was able to secure an additional $225 million to expand the network. There was originally going to be around 61. That's now up to 90. I know that, given the demand in communities and the advocacy that I've heard already, that I expect through the evaluation process and the renegotiation of the National Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Agreement that there'll be advocacy for more centres. And we know that there is need across Australia, and we want to be able to meet that need in as many communities as possible.
JAMES: I appreciate your time, Minister. Thank you for joining us.
MCBRIDE: Good to be with you.
JAMES: That’s Emma McBride there, who’s the Assistant Minister for Mental Health and suicide Prevention, and also the Assistant Minister for Rural and Regional Health.