LORETTA RYAN, ABC: Now if you are struggling with mental health and trying to access services, you'll no doubt be aware of the crisis sweeping across the country. New appointments are hard to find and if you're lucky enough to get one, paying for it can be harder again. Now, one answer has been the rollout of specialist centres where patients can walk straight in and get the help they need, without the cost of compounding to their pain.
CRAIG ZONCA, ABC: Now more services are coming online in the southeast to help more people in need. Let's get a bit more on this with Assistant Minister for Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Emma McBride in studio here on 612 ABC Brisbane. Assistant Minister, good to see you.
ASSISTANT MINISTER EMMA MCBRIDE: Good to be here.
ZONCA: What measures are being rolled out now?
MCBRIDE: As you've said, it's been really tough for people in communities to be able to access mental health support and care close to home, affordably, and when they need it. In responding to that, the Albanese Labor Government is rolling out 61 Medicare Mental Health Centres across the country, including 19 right here in Queensland. Yesterday, I opened a service in Rockhampton and then travelled down the Bruce to open one in Gladstone, and today heading over to Cleveland to open the new Redlands Centre, where someone can walk in without having to wait for an appointment, without needing a referral and importantly, for free.
RYAN: Are they spread right across? Because I would think that someone on the north side having to go all the way to Cleveland would be hard. So where else are the others, and how are they operating?
MCBRIDE: These centres are being spread right across the country. Just before Christmas, I was in Logan with the Treasurer to open the Medicare Mental Health Centre there. There's one in Townsville, there's one in Ipswich. So, we're rolling them out right across the country. And as I said, 19 in Queensland, seven which are up and running already. And just yesterday, I spoke to a man, Ken, who was using one of the services in Gladstone, and he told me the difference that it had made to him to be able to… he saw his doctor and his doctor gave him three options. One of them was to go to the medical- Medicare Mental Health Centre. He walked in and was greeted by a peer worker, someone who'd walked in his shoes, who helped him navigate what services he needed. He told me that he's now with the Men's Shed and he now has got secure housing and in a really good place. So, this is the type of work that the Medicare Mental Health Centres can do. A holistic approach, wraparound care, looking at all of the stressors that might be driving your mental health concerns.
ZONCA: You walk in, who do you get to see?
MCBRIDE: So, you're likely to be greeted by a peer worker like Kristy, who is in Rockhampton, someone who has had their own direct personal experience of mental ill health, who understands and has walked in your shoes. And once you're met by the peer worker, they will have a conversation with you in a safe and welcoming environment about what sort of support you're seeking. And that might be seeing a mental health social worker. It might be seeing a counsellor. It might be a psychologist. So, working out from a multidisciplinary, experienced mental health team, what's the right support for you.
ZONCA: So, you can walk in, be seen, not necessarily referred straight away elsewhere and say: no, we can't help you today. You've got to go somewhere else?
MCBRIDE: That is what is so important because in the community, whether it's been in regional Queensland or the Central Coast where my electorate is, it's been really hard for people to get information and support on the spot. And when you're in distress, we know that earlier intervention and support means that you're less likely to end up in crisis and needing in-patient services.
RYAN: Yeah. Do we have enough counsellors and peer workers?
MCBRIDE: We are. We're working to expand the peer workforce. For the first time in Australia, we've set up a peer work association to be able to professionalise and mobilise the peer workforce. We're also doing a census to understand where peer workers are working, in what roles, and also to elevate peer workers to policy making and decision-making roles. At the service in Northam in Western Australia, a peer worker with their own personal lived experience of alcohol and other drugs is now managing the service. It makes such a difference to the kind of compassionate and empathetic service that's provided.
ZONCA: And you worked in this space before you came to Parliament, didn't you?
MCBRIDE: Yes.
ZONCA: So that personal experience obviously plays a big part in knowing how critical these services are. We spent a bit of time over at the Lifeline Bookfest in the last few days. The funds raised from that are going to support their crisis support line. That 13-11-14 number, counselling 24 hours a day, seven days a week – they say it has never been busier. We're getting better at talking about mental health, but it's that service delivery that still seems to be playing catch up. Is that fair for me to say?
MCBRIDE: It has been. I've worked in mental health for more than 20 years and as a country, we're now having- people are awareness- that stigma is largely disappeared. People feel very open about discussing their mental health concerns and seeking help. That's why we're providing services within communities to meet people where they're at. And the services that will be, you know, opening today, the new Redlands Centre in Cleveland, will be the next- the seventh one in Queensland, and again, offering support and services closer to home for people who need them.
RYAN: Federal Assistant Minister Emma McBride is with you, Assistant Minister for Mental Health and Suicide Prevention. There's a real focus on both young and First Nations people. Are these the demographics of particular concern at the moment?
MCBRIDE: When you look at it at a population level, Australians aged 16 to 24 have the highest prevalence of mental ill health. The main things that they’re experiencing are depression and anxiety. That's why we're really working on our network of headspaces that are available for young people aged 12 to 25. And I'm really pleased today to be heading over to Bribie Island to be opening the headspace that we've set up there. Since it was set up in the middle of last year, more than 80 young people in Bribie Island have already accessed support. Every headspace has a youth reference group to make sure that the services that are provided are designed by young people, for young people, so they meet the needs of young people today. How they seek support has changed. The type of support they're seeking is also different to when headspace was first established.
ZONCA: Yeah, and some of it's not face to face.
MCBRIDE: No.
ZONCA: Some of it is over, text, for instance. There's a bit more anonymity that some young people want. And trying to tailor that, it must be a really hard thing to manage right now from a resourcing perspective too.
MCBRIDE: And that's why we have set up, with the Medicare Mental Health Centres, there's a virtual network of specialist psychologists and psychiatrists. It might be that a young person needs a specialist psychiatrist who is experienced in eating disorders. And that's why we're setting up this virtual network. I was able to secure another $30 million in the last Budget for the centres to set up that network, which will be up and running by the middle of this year, so that if you walk into a centre in Gladstone and you need a more specialist psychiatrist or psychologist, that’ll then be available to you.
RYAN: What about at the other end of the scale? Because there are a lot of lonely people around as well as we get older. Is that being looked at as well?
MCBRIDE: It is. It's so important, connection, belonging, and why I mentioned the person who I spoke to yesterday. He'd come into the service; he was at risk of- he was losing his accommodation. And now through working through the Medicare Mental Health Centre, with that support, he was able to secure ongoing accommodation. And just this week he started with the Men's Shed. So, the Australian Government supports programs through the Health Department, like Men's Shed, to find that connection, to have some purpose and to do something that's meaningful with other people. I was talking yesterday to a men's walk and talk group.
RYAN: Yes.
MCBRIDE: And since they've started, they've told me they now have 80 people that meet in Rockhampton, every three or four weeks, and go side by side.
RYAN: Yeah.
MCBRIDE: That walking alongside someone, talking to someone who is like you and has a similar experience is really powerful.
ZONCA: Shout out to Jeff and the team who do the walk and talk group at Redcliffe.…
RYAN: [Talks over] Redcliffe. Yes.
ZONCA: … on a pretty regular basis. Morning to you gents as well. Emma, really good to hear about what is happening. Thanks so much for joining us this morning.
MCBRIDE: Good to be with you.
ZONCA: Assistant Minister for Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Emma McBride. That new service opening in Cleveland officially today.