Today the Australian Labor Party announced a $113.9-million national mental health and suicide prevention plan in the lead up to the federal election.

The plan, which would start in July next year, promises to boost mental health services and increase direct suicide prevention. Mental health experts respond.

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Professor David Copolov is Pro Vice-Chancellor and Professor of Psychiatry at Monash University in Melbourne

“Many people don’t appreciate the extent to which serious psychiatric illnesses result in preventable and needless deaths.

Suicide is one of the major causes of such deaths accounting for some 2,200 deaths per year in our country.  Approximately 30 times more Australian attempt suicide each year and the effect of them and their families on such attempts is often profound.

The multi-party Senate Committee on suicide reported back only last month after nine months of deliberation, so it is very good news for mental health reform that the Prime Minister has responded so swiftly to so many of the Committee’s recommendations in her policy announcement today.  I am impressed by the attention the plan has on practical action, on serious psychiatric disorders and the special attention it pays to men.  The majority of Australians who kill themselves – in fact three quarters – are men.

Whichever party is elected on the 21st August I hope that the mental health policies that have been released so far will be augmented with many additional ones that address mental health care across the life span and will give special attention to areas that have received very little recognition in recent times including the dire plight of many people with chronic and recurrent psychiatric disorders and those who require the care of forensic and special accommodation services.”

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Professor Nicholas Procter is Chair of mental health nursing at the University of South Australia

“The Labor government’s re-think on mental health is a welcome announcement given that the area has been neglected in recent times. At the same time future projections are that the need for mental health services is likely to grow over the coming years due to the increasing incidence of mental disorders in young people. It is well documented that mental illness is third after heart disease and cancer in terms of disease burden and that 18 per cent of the population experiences a mental health problem each year.

Recent research reveals that two thirds of people with mental illness do not receive any treatment in any twelve month period and people with mental illness are over represented in our criminal justice system.  Also significant is the prevalence of mental illness among homeless people – thought to be four to five times higher than within the Australian general population.

As important as early intervention is in mental health, there is also a need for urgent assistance when people are in crisis and require an urgent mental health response. Specialist psychiatry sessions are certainly going to help. However there are those people who, through the nature of their condition, are unable or reluctant to seek help. I would like to see more effort being made to engage emergency services as police are often called as first respondents. When someone with a mental illness is in crisis, they can be distressed, their perceptions may be disturbed, they may be frightened and experiencing auditory or visual hallucinations, or deeply suspicious. As a result the person may believe that others want to harm them and their response may be self protection.”

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