FI POOLE, HOST: Now, domestic violence, housing insecurity, the recent natural disasters, whether or not they're flood or fire. I mean, they're all major contributors to poor mental health in our region. Life is- it's stressful. But you throw on top a rental increase or you throw on top an inundated house and having to move out, you know, you throw on top like a relationship breakdown and, mate, do you need some help? Nearly two years ago, a Medicare Mental Health Centre opened up in Coffs Harbour and since then it's delivered care nearly 9000 times. Right now it's located in the Coffs Harbour Neighbourhood Centre, but it is about to relocate. The Assistant Minister for Health, Disability and Ageing, Emma McBride, joins us this morning. Emma, thanks for being here.
ASSISTANT MINISTER EMMA MCBRIDE: Good to be with you, Fi.
POOLE: Let's start with the relocation. It sounds like it was performing a great service. Why are you moving it?
MCBRIDE: With Medicare Mental Health Centres across the country we want them to be in a place that's most accessible to people, that's very convenient for them, and the Primary Health Network work with local service providers to identify a suitable location. They've outgrown their space and they need some more room. Given the demand that you've just mentioned, more than 9000 occasions of care in not quite two years. So we're really pleased to let your listeners know that it'll be relocating the middle of April to 27-29 Duke Street, Coffs Harbour. So, a place that should also be very accessible to local people.
And the important thing that I want to remind people is that these services are free, that they can walk in, that they don't need an appointment and they'll be able to get care that's tailored to their particular needs, given the different drivers of distress that people may be experiencing.
POOLE: I mentioned a few of those drivers. If you walk through the doors, what sort of service would you be offered?
MCBRIDE: I'm a former mental health worker myself and to know that people will walk through a door and be in a welcoming space where someone with their own lived experience, a peer worker, is likely to greet them and then to help them to get either immediate information and support or to link them in or provide them appointments for more ongoing or wraparound care. Because what we saw in the Mid North Coast and across the country was that people were waiting too long for care, that it was too expensive. And then that distress escalated often to crisis, which is difficult for them and also for our communities.
POOLE: So my understanding is the way you go about getting mental health support is you go to your GP, you get a mental health plan, you get a referral to a psychologist, you find the psychologist, you often have to wait, you know, weeks until there is a spot, and then you start your therapy. Not with these Medicare centres? Different approach?
MCBRIDE: This is a different approach. And what we saw was that, and I worked in acute mental health inpatient units in the regional New South Wales, and I saw that people were having to wait too long for care and it being unaffordable. So these centres are designed to overcome all of those barriers. So someone can walk in without an appointment. They don't need to wait for a diagnosis and they'll be given immediate information and support. And for people with more ongoing or complex mental health challenges, often a multidisciplinary approach is what works best. And so these centres are staffed by peer workers, social workers, psychologists, so that you can get care that is tailored to you to meet your needs in your circumstances.
POOLE: We have high depression rates in Kempsey and we also have them in the Nambucca Valley. The rates suggest that these communities would also benefit from a Medicare mental health facility as well. What does the rollout look like and who's getting one next?
MCBRIDE: So we have recently opened a Medicare Mental Health Centre in Kempsey - that's in Belgrave Street in Kempsey. What what we're trying to do is to make sure that wherever you live, support and care is available to you closer to home. So we've opened now over 50 Medicare Mental Health Centres. We committed at the last election more than $1 billion to expand mental health support and care right across the country. And we'll be going into negotiations with the states and territories for the next National Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Agreement, where I anticipate given the demand and the uptake that we will be looking at being able to expand the network and strengthen it.
And I should also let your listeners know that we've made sure that if you walk into a centre in Coffs Harbour or if you walk into a centre in Kempsey, that each centre is linked to a virtual network of psychologists and psychiatrists, because I wanted to make sure or we wanted to make sure that wherever you went, if you needed that more specialist or expert mental health support and care, that was also available to you for free.
POOLE: Okay. You're coupling this with a new digital service. Can you tell us about this, the digital service?
MCBRIDE: The digital service, Medicare Mental Health Check In, we launched on 1 January, and listeners now can register via medicarementalhealth.gov.au or by calling the phone line 1800-595-212, and when they ring the phone line they'll have a brief assessment and then they'll be linked into the support and care that is most appropriate to them. It might be that they get linked into a Medicare Mental Health Centre, it might be that they get linked into our new guided support through trained professionals via phone or via video. So that part of the rollout will be starting from 30 March, but listeners can register now.
We've already recruited, or our partners in Vincent's Health has already recruited experienced social workers, psychologists, counsellors who are doing additional training in low-intensity cognitive behavioural therapy. You mentioned high rates of or prevalence of depression and anxiety. CBT is the most evidence-based therapy that is most effective for the most common mental health presentations, which are anxiety and depression.
POOLE: Okay. So what you're saying is that this is a free video service with a psychologist that will offer you CBT treatment which is that- and that's free?
MCBRIDE: Yes. We wanted to make sure why we're introducing these services under Medicare is so that Australians know that they're quality service provided by experienced practitioners and available for free. With this therapy there's also a self-guided approach. Some people prefer to be able to go at their own pace and to work through the online resources and tools. So listeners now can look at online resources from 30 March. They'll be able to then, if it's what's most suitable to them, be able to then have sessions with a trained mental health practitioner through- using CBT to be able to support them because what we want to do is to catch people sooner so that people who you mentioned, relationship breakdowns, financial pressures, being overwhelmed by work, natural disasters, all these drivers of distress have a big impact on individuals and communities. If we can provide this support sooner and help people to be equipped with the tools that they need and working with them with experienced mental health practitioners, we know that it'll really improve access and it'll hopefully equip people with the skills they need and also reduce distress across our communities.
POOLE: Emma McBride, the Assistant Minister for Health, Disability and Ageing, joining us this morning here on ABC Coffs and Mid North Coast. You said you need to register for that service and it's coming online when? On the 1st of ...
MCBRIDE: So we launched the service on 1 January. It's being rolled out in phases to make sure that the service meets people's needs. So at the moment, people can go online through medicarementalhealth.gov.au to register and to look at the resources that are available. From 30 March, the next stage of the rollout will mean that people will be able to get guided support by trained professionals via phone or video and all free under Medicare.
POOLE: Okay. Well that sort of eliminates an access issue for some people especially when they're living remotely. I know that- you know, we've spoken about some of the mental health issues that the face, but our young people are really struggling. The statistics that are coming out of Pat McGorry and headspace sort of suggest that we have way too many young people, especially First Nations young people, in distress. I noticed that headspace Coffs Harbour has received $600,000 in funding recently. Is there some data that you're privy to that is suggesting that the Coffs and Mid North Coast is under particular distress right now?
MCBRIDE: The demand at the Coffs Harbour headspace has been very high. We know that they've provided- in the last 12 months, they've provided individual support to more than 700 young people, and of those 700 young people, 400 of them are new to the service, which suggests the demand in the local region which is why we've provided through demand management and enhancement funding around $600,000, and the remodelling finished yesterday, so if young people are listening or their family members, they'll be able to walk into a place that is really welcoming and has been redesigned to make it a more confidential and welcoming space for young people.
Also part of that money is being directed towards demand management because we want to make sure that young people are able to be seen sooner and we know that in some parts of regional New South Wales or across the country, that wait times are longer than we would like them to be, and so this additional funding is to help to reduce wait times so that they can see young people sooner and to make sure that young people get the right kind of care. headspace across the country are also introducing a new type of approach which is called single session or session by session, and Fi, it would be if a young person came in they would say, you know, why are you here today, what can we help you with right now? And we know that young people, most young people, go to a headspace on one occasion, and if we on that one occasion can get them the support and care that they need then that will have the biggest impact.
POOLE: Yeah. That's right. I mean, they're unlikely to walk in twice if they don't get the service they need the first time. Emma McBride, thank you so much for being with us this morning and thanks for being in the region with those announcements.
MCBRIDE: Good to be with you, Fi.
POOLE: There you go. The Medicare Mental Health Service that was based at the Neighbourhood Centre in Coffs Harbour is now moving to Duke Street in Coffs Harbour. That's within the next couple of months. They'll be opening their doors to a larger centre and hopefully, able to service more people in the region. And, you know, hopefully we're going to see more of these rolled out. In the meantime, though, head to medicarementalhealth.gov.au to see what services are available to you.