Member for Northern Tablelands Brendan Moylan has slammed a report released last Friday by NSW Health – Review and Planning for Mental Health Services (RaP-MHS) – comparing it to wallpaper.
One of the main stated purposes of the report was to identify the gaps in health care and ‘provide a picture of what mental health services are provided in NSW, where and who they are provided to, and where and what additional services are most needed’.
The MP said the report fails to meet the most basic question of ‘where’ by removing any information that identifies individual Local Health Districts or hospitals in NSW.
“There was great anticipation for this report as we know that the mental health services provided in our region and most regional areas, falls well short of expectation and, more importantly, need,” Mr Moylan said.
“However, it seems that this report would be perfect to use as wallpaper to cover over all those huge gaps in the delivery of mental health services in regional areas.
“The report doesn’t miss any back-patting opportunity for the Minister and NSW Health while choosing to ignore the daily failures and abandonment of regional NSW.”
The report confirmed that no service sector in NSW met or exceeded the demand estimated in the National Mental Health Service Planning Network (NMHSPF)
The MP said the report details a wide variation in terms of how well inpatient service demand was met for different populations – with regional areas left needing more.
“The report states that residents in some metropolitan health districts had their demands met particularly well across Indigenous and non-Indigenous patients when compared to state averages,” Mr Moylan said.
“We all know that regionally based Local Health Districts have been left behind and as this report fails to identify where the gaps are in mental health services delivery, it is an opportunity missed.
“The report fails vulnerable communities and individuals, and I will be pushing for greater focus on regional needs and increasing funding for vital services.”