Liberals failing Tasmanians on mental health

The President of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists has identified serial under-resourcing as the cause of the current crisis in Tasmania’s acute mental health services.
Dr Kym Jenkins’ evidence at the Upper House inquiry into acute health services confirmed the Hodgman Government’s utter failure to adequately provide for Tasmanians’ mental health.
The Liberal Government has cut public services so deeply – to show a budget “back in the black” – that acute psychiatric services are nowhere near functioning levels.
People in severe mental health distress are being denied treatment, and Tasmania’s services are woefully behind national benchmarks.
Health Minister Ferguson cut the number of beds at the RHH Department of Psychiatric Medicine to 32 during the hospital rebuild, against the advice of psychiatrists. This put unbearable pressure on training psychiatrists to lower standards of practice and discharge patients early. Standards at RHH were so poor for so long the College was forced to remove the hospital’s training accreditation earlier this year.
The situation has been made worse by the Health Department directing funding to locums rather than permanent psychiatrists, causing further staff shortages.
Patients in acute mental health distress need expert care. Dr Jenkins’ evidence to the inquiry confirms so few acute beds are available that patients are left to care for themselves.
There are clear solutions to this mess, and Minister Ferguson needs to act on them now. Psychiatrists need to be offered permanent employment with good conditions, and a new acute bed section for mental health patients in the south needs to be identified immediately.
Rosalie Woodruff MP | Greens Health spokesperson