Mental health is a crucial part of Australian citizens’ general well-being and happy life outcomes. The foremost duty of the Australian Department of Health is to develop a better mental health system that helps improve the lives of people with or at risk of mental illnesses. However, such an objective does not seem to be met successfully nowadays (Looi & Kisely, 2019). This paper aims to critically discuss the policy and funding context of mental health service provision in Australia. After carrying out thorough research, I have come to believe that the country’s mental health system urgently needs organizational reformation and restructuring rather than more expenditure.
According to statistics, in the years 2017-2018, $9.9 billion was spent on mental health-related services in Australia (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2020). Overall, it increased from $382 per person in 2013-2014 to $400 per person in 2017-208. This shows effective funding of the field, including expenses on initiatives, programs, services, and research necessary to provide the best care for people struggling with mental health issues. Suicide prevention, research on mental health stigmatization, prevention, and recovery have been funded by the Australian, state, and territory governments along with private health insurers and individuals (Batterham et al., 2016). Thus, Australia pays close attention to the mental health of its nation and regularly supports the system with funding and the related expenses. However, the system lacks an organizational structure and often fails to provide the best care to patients with mental health illnesses.
The first crucial organizational issue is that there are not enough mental health services to help patients who need it the most. Thus, the current difficulties with rationing result in a situation where only severely ill people receive professional help, with others failing to be admitted for treatment or being discharged from the facility too early (Uchmanowicz et al., 2020). Another serious issue deals with new mental health policies that make it difficult for patients to access the necessary treatment due to being less restrictive and influenced greatly by the already discusses rationing complications. Moreover, the problem of treating patients with mental health conditions within the general health system – and not by special psychiatric services (Bartram & Stewart, 2019). That is, the unique needs of such people are not fully met and often given only basic attention. Finally, Australia lacks new psychiatrists and psychiatric nurses being trained, with many already existing professionals retiring and leaving the field. Let alone the fact that training opportunities are rather limited in today’s realia.
To conclude, while the Australian mental health system requires funding the necessary scientific research and programs for patients with mental illnesses, it is not a primary objective in the present day. What is more important and demands close attention is better organization of the system. It is necessary to eliminate such issues as rationing difficulties, reconsider the present acts and policies in the field, stop the so-called mainstreaming of mental health services, and introduce more training opportunities for young professionals. This way, when enough expenditure and sufficient organization go hand in hand, the system will work best for patients’ benefit.
References
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. (2020). Expenditure on mental health-related services. Web.
Bartram, M., & Stewart, J. M. (2019). Income-based inequities in access to psychotherapy and other mental health services in Canada and Australia. Health policy, 123(1), 45-50.
Batterham, P. J., McGrath, J., McGorry, P. D., Kay-Lambkin, F. J., Hickie, I. B., & Christensen, H. (2016). NHMRC funding of mental health research. The Medical Journal of Australia, 205(8), 350-351.
Looi, J. C., & Kisely, S. R. (2019). Potemkin redux: the re-disorganisation of public mental health services in Australia. Australasian Psychiatry, 27(6), 607-610.
Uchmanowicz, I., Witczak, I., Rypicz, Ł., Szczepanowski, R., Panczyk, M., Wiśnicka, A., & Cordeiro, R. (2020). A new approach to the prevention of nursing care rationing: Cross‐sectional study on positive orientation. Journal of Nursing Management.