DAVID DOWSETT, ABC WIDE BAY: Well, we’ve talked about accessing medical facilities in our region many, many times with the community, with patients, with healthcare professionals, with health facilities, even politicians. But the stats are still quite surprising. For example, in 2022-’23, more than 40 per cent of presentations to Hervey Bay Hospital were for semi-urgent and non-urgent conditions. 40 per cent, that’s a lot, right? And we know in the mental health space, wait times are long and accessing help still attaches a level of stigma that has to be overcome. But could it be that in our region, there’s some good news coming in the health sector?
Well, with me is Assistant Federal Minister for Mental Health and Suicide Prevention, and Assistant Minister for Rural and Regional Health, Emma McBride. Emma, good morning.
EMMA MCBRIDE, ASSISTANT MINISTER: Good morning, good to be with you, David.
DOWSETT: Good to see you. So, what brings you to our region?
MCBRIDE: I’m really pleased to be here to make an important announcement about mental health and suicide prevention. We know that there is increasing distress in communities right around Australia, including in Queensland. COVID-19, natural disasters, cost of living pressures are all driving this distress, and it has been tough for many people to be able to access support in the community. In response to that, the Albanese Government is rolling out 61 Medicare Mental Health Centres right across the country, including 19 in Queensland and one right here in Bundaberg. These centres will provide free, walk-in mental health support and care.
DOWSETT: Well, they’re already stretched a medical workforce. How do you plan on actually staffing these facilities?
MCBRIDE: I'm a former mental health worker myself, a pharmacist who worked in regional hospitals, and I know the workforce shortages and pressures that many services are placing, which is why we're doing them integrated with the Queensland Government under our National Mental Health and Suicide Prevention agreement to make sure that the workforce we have is best utilised where it's going to have the most impact. We've also had an increase in the Budget of another close to $30 million for the Medicare Mental Health Centres, to make sure that each centre has access to a psychiatrist and psychologist on call recognising the shortages, but also the distribution challenges, particularly for more regional and remote parts of Australia.
DOWSETT: Right. But that psychiatrist, you'll be able to find those, because it's not easy to find stuff in regional areas, is it?
MCBRIDE: And that's why we've boosted, we've made this additional $30 million investment, recognising the challenges of recruiting and retaining specialist mental health staff, including psychologists and psychiatrists. So this additional funding will set up a virtual telehealth service. So whichever Medicare Mental Health Centre you walk into around Australia you'll be able to have access to free consultations with a psychiatrist or a psychologist.
DOWSETT: So on the Fraser Coast, the- when do you think the urgent care clinic is likely to be up and running?
MCBRIDE: So, we'll be announcing that later today. Very pleased that in the Budget that there's an additional boost in funding for the urgent care clinics, so that we'll have another 29, bringing the total to 87 across the country. So this is expected to be open very soon.
DOWSETT: And an urgent care clinic, how does that actually differ to emergency at the hospital? What's the difference there?
MCBRIDE: An urgent care clinic is for urgent, but not life-threatening care. Most of the presentations we see at urgent care clinics around the country are for cuts, for falls, for head injuries. So what we're seeing is for somebody to be able to come in for an urgent but not life threatening presentation. Most of the presentations are children under 15. So we're seeing that they are a reliable place for families to be able to take a child as an alternative to the emergency department. And many of the presentations are out of hours.
DOWSETT: So if it's just a sort of walk-in, there's no appointments, isn't there a danger that could be sort of overwhelmed by that many people turning up?
MCBRIDE: Well, since the first Medicare Urgent Care Clinic opened its doors in June last year, there's been 550,000 presentations across the country. And as I said, most of them- or many of them children under 15, so a trusted place for families and also out of hours. And we have in the Budget increased the funding in Medicare Urgent Care Clinics by $227 million to be able to boost the workforce, recognising particularly in the regions the resources needed to be able to recruit and retain staff. So typically, urgent care clinics across the country are seeing 40 to 50 visits a day, and when I was in Toowoomba earlier this week, I met with the director of their emergency department at Toowoomba Hospital, and he was letting me know that because the urgent care clinic is now open, that they're being able to see the more life-threatening presentations, whereas the other presentations are able to go to the urgent care clinic and being seen and treated there. So already reducing pressure…
DOWSETT: [Talks over] Taking the pressure off.
MCBRIDE: … on the emergency departments of local hospitals, including in Queensland.
DOWSETT: In regional and rural communities, how do we get past the stigma of accessing mental health services? I mean, if you- there's always a chance you're going to bump into someone that you know in a situation like this. How do you get over that?
MCBRIDE: I think we have, I first started working in mental health now nearly 20 years ago, and I think we have made great strides in Australia in reducing the stigma, including the self-stigma associated with seeking care for mental health. And what we've already seen is a really big uptake in these services around the country. And I think that we are normalising accessing mental health care in Australia. It's something that so many people experience, that distress or suicidal ideation is something that affects many people. And we want to make sure that anybody, wherever they live, can go into a safe place that feels welcoming. And with the Medicare Mental Health Centres, you're likely to be met by a peer worker, so someone who's walked in your shoes. And I think sometimes the best support and care you can get is from somebody who has walked in your shoes.
The Medicare Mental Health Centre in Geelong, I was met by a peer worker there, a young man, and his own lived experience that he's then able to share made other people feel really welcome and supported in coming into the service. A nice warm entry that then helps people to be able to access the more specialist clinical care that they might need, perhaps an assessment with a social worker, or with a mental health nurse, or with a psychologist or a psychiatrist. I think part of breaking down the stigma is working with people with lived experience. And in the Budget, we’ve set up the first national peer work association to be able to professionalise and mobilise the peer workforce. We're also doing a census to get an understanding of across Australia, where people with lived experience are working and in what roles, because we want to make sure that we can have peer workers sharing their own lived experience in all of these Medicare Mental Health Centres.
DOWSETT: At this stage, no date on when these services will be in place?
MCBRIDE: The Bundaberg Medicare Mental Health Centre is already up and running in a temporary location. It's open Monday to Friday, 9 to 5 at the moment in unit 45, 140 George Street, Bundaberg. So, that's up and running at the moment, and a more permanent location with extended hours will be opening soon. With the Medicare Urgent Care Clinic in the Fraser Coast, it’s out for tender at the moment through the local primary health network, so we expect it to be up and running shortly.
DOWSETT: Emma McBride, enjoy your time in our region. Thanks very much.
MCBRIDE: Thank you so much.
DOWSETT: Assistant Federal Minister for Mental health and Suicide Prevention and Assistant Minister for Rural and Regional Health, Emma McBride on ABC Wide Bay.