LORETTA RYAN, ABC RADIO BRISBANE: The ribbon will be cut this morning on the federal government's latest Medicare mental health centre. The walk up facility is part of a programme to ease the congestion faced by patients seeking treatment for mental health conditions.
JOEL SPREADBOROUGH, ABC RADIO BRISBANE: It's a new centre at Logan delivering free access for Queenslanders operating across extended hours. And the big thing here, no appointment, no referral required. For more on this, we're joined in the studio by Assistant Minister for Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Emma McBride. Good morning. Can you explain to us how does this centre- how does it work?
ASSISTANT MINISTER EMMA MCBRIDE: Thank you so much for having me this morning, it's so good to be back. What these centres will provide is free walk in mental health support and care. We know that in the community that has been hard to find. I'm a mental health worker myself and we've seen an increase in distress in the community. But people finding it hard to access services, what these centres do is remove the barriers to access. You don't need an appointment. You don't need a diagnosis. You don't need a referral. You can walk in. You're likely to be greeted by a peer worker, someone who's walked in your shoes, who's had their own personal experience of mental health. They're staffed by multidisciplinary teams of social workers and counsellors. The right expert wrap around support and care to help you at that time, or ongoing if that's what you need.
RYAN: Yeah. So up until now, what stories have you heard about people waiting to get in?
MCBRIDE: As I mentioned, I'm a pharmacist. I worked in acute adult mental health unit, and I would see people in distress end up in crisis and then have to have long stays in acute mental health inpatient units. What we know is with earlier support in the community, people can become well. And that's what we're doing through these Medicare mental health centres. So I'll be at the one in Logan Central today. There's five up and running already around Queensland, and a total of 19 that we'll have soon here in the state.
RYAN: Yeah. So but what about when people are walking in, are you concerned there will be such a demand now that there will be wait times for them?
MCBRIDE: Well, the centres that we've seen open already are being able to manage that demand very well. As I said, you're likely to be greeted by someone who's had your own experience, and they'll ask you why you're here today. What sort of support are you seeking? What can we offer you? It might be that will be a consultation with a counsellor. It may be that you will see a clinical psychologist or a psychiatrist. And importantly, given the mental health workforce and the growing demands, we're investing in a virtual network of psychiatrists and psychologists. So whichever centre you walk into, whether it's in Logan Central or in Tuggerah, in my electorate, you'll be able to be seen by specialist psychologist or psychiatrist if that's what you need.
SPREADBOROUGH: It's interesting. We've we say the demand, there's been such an increase in awareness and diagnosis around certain conditions as well. Will there be speciality when it comes to things like ADHD, autism, where we know there are a lot more people that are dealing with this? And I guess what's the plan if people can't be seen on the day?
MCBRIDE: So just last week I was at the Medicare Mental Health Centre in Canberra City. They have a psychiatrist that works in the centre, a clinical psychologist working in the centre. What we will do is when someone walks in to meet their immediate needs, it might be information, it might be some support, it might be then counselling sessions as I mentioned. So to your point about neurodiversity, there is a lot more awareness and importantly, increasing understanding in the community, which does lead to an increased demand for services. We want to make sure that these centres meet your needs at that point in time. And it may be for a very specialist service that we might need to warmly hand you over or link you in with a with another service that has that particular speciality. But we will make sure that whomever walks in will be greeted, will be made welcome, and will get the support and care they need.
SPREADBOROUGH: You'll be able to answer this with your background in pharmacy as well. There have been some shortages when it comes to medication, and specific medication required. Those conditions I mentioned, as well as a swathe of others, and they do change from state to state. Being a national rollout, how do you plan on managing that? If someone is prescribed here but has to go to New South Wales, for example, it's a very different set of rules as far as accessing medication.
MCBRIDE: And what we've tried to do at a national level, and particularly this became very exposed through COVID, was that Australia as part of the Asia Pacific, was at the end of global supply chains. So what we've done as a commonwealth is make sure that there's essential medication supplies in country. This is something that I used to do a lot as a chief pharmacist of a local hospital, having to source medications, whether they were common medications that were out of stock, or uncommon medications that were treated for someone with a specific condition. So we've made sure that there is more stock onshore of medications. And there's always the opportunity to speak to your GP and your pharmacists about alternatives if they are appropriate substitutes.
RYAN: It's 7:20 on 612 ABC Brisbane. You are listening to Australia's Assistant Minister for Mental Health and Suicide Prevention, Emma McBride, and we're talking about the latest Medicare Mental Health Centre that will be opening at Logan to deliver free access for Queenslanders, across extended hours. No appointment, no referral needed. Minister, during COVID, we saw mental health care plans double from 10 sessions to 20, but that ended almost as quickly as the pandemic. Is that also having a detrimental impact on people attending services?
MCBRIDE: What we saw when the former government- stood up a review of that measure and what we saw that while those within that system of care were benefiting from it, of course, it locked other people out. When the sessions returned to what the former government had intended and what we introduced, we saw another 40,000 people be able to enter the system of care. Typically, people use about five sessions, but what these centres will mean is that for someone who needs more ongoing care or wraparound support, they'll be able to access that. You'll still be able to see your GP and have a mental health treatment plan for people who benefit most from one on one work with a psychologist. But there's many people who need more wraparound support, and that's what these centres intend to do. I've worked in multidisciplinary mental health teams. I know the benefit of a social worker working with a nurse. And the real difference that wraparound support and care to make to individuals and to families.
SPREADBOROUGH: Minister, what about personnel? We know it's been a little bit tricky for people to get in front of a psychiatrist. Psychology, we're lucky to have some services that do offer subsidised care. How are you ensuring that you have the staff to make sure that these centres are doing what they're supposed to be doing?
MCBRIDE: It's absolutely critical, and that's why we're investing in growing the mental health workforce. We've introduced another 500 places for psychology students, 500 places for internships and more than 2000 supervisor hours. It might surprise your listeners to know that 90 per cent of people who currently finish a psychology degree don't go on to practise as a clinical psychologist, simply because there aren't the pathways for them. We're also expanding the peer worker workforce. We know that sometimes the best support you can have is from someone who's walked in your shoes. And 20 years ago I worked with a peer worker, Leslie, and today we're now setting up a peer worker association to be able to mobilise and professionalise peer workforce. So there are two measures that we're doing to expand the workforce. But right now a new virtual network of psychologists and psychiatrists. So if you walk into Logan City Mental- Medicare Mental Health Centre, or if you walk into the one in Townsville, if you need to be seen by a psychologist or a psychiatrist you will.
RYAN: So Erin's asking about the clinics, the walk in mental health services. The one is opening at Logan. Will the South East see more centres opening?
MCBRIDE: There will be more centres. So at the moment in Queensland there's five centres up and running. Townsville, I opened one in Kingaroy, in Ipswich, there's one in Redlands, the one in Logan that we're going to today, and I'll be back in Queensland early next year to open centres in Rockhampton and Gladstone. We're trying to make sure- because the need is growing across the country and we're seeing it in all states. We're making sure that we've got a network across the country so that everyone can get support closer to home.
RYAN: All right. It's much needed and that's opening today. So, Minister, thank you so much for coming in today.