Australian and New Zealand Mental Health Association Inc Blog

The Federal Government has launched a National Mental Health Commission to monitor services for people with mental illness.

2012-01-30T11:07:00.002+10:00

Professor Allan Fels

The Commission is led by Professor Allan Fels as Chair and has already met to begin work on a National Report Card on Mental Health and Suicide Prevention.

Speaking at the official launch in Sydney, the Minister for Mental Health and Ageing, Mark Butler said: “The Commission will put Australia’s mental health services under the spotlight. It will bring much needed transparency to our system – it will give us insights into service gaps, where we need to do more and where services are working and working well.

“One of the Commission’s first priorities will be to deliver the first annual National Report Card on Mental Health and Suicide Prevention – a key election commitment of the Gillard Government. This is important data that will allow us to monitor whether services are working effectively to deliver lasting outcomes for people with mental illness,” Butler said.

“The new Commission will advocate for the needs of consumers and carers, which should be at the front and centre of policy making. We want to ensure these needs are given the priority they warrant by all levels of government,” Professor Fels said.

"Governments need to do better in mental health. We hope to help them do that by more clearly identifying the gaps in the system.

“Our wide variety of relationships and our independence from the agencies that fund and deliver mental health services will give us a unique perspective from which to provide our public reports and advice.”

The eight Commissioners are:

Mr Peter Bicknell;
Ms Jackie Crowe;
Dr Pat Dudgeon;
Professor Ian Hickie AM;
Mr Rob Knowles AO;
Ms Janet Meagher AM;
Ms Samantha Mostyn; and
Professor Ian Webster AO.

The CEO of the Commission is Robyn Kruk AM who has been invited to keynote at the The 13th International Mental Health Conference being held on the Gold Coast in August 2012.

The conference will focus on the complex mental issues affecting the elderly including depression, dementia, delirium, paranoid disorders and anxiety. It will also explore the mental health issues of young Australians (aged 18 – 24 years) struggling with schizophrenia, depression, suicidal thoughts, bipolar, anxiety disorders and drug use and drug induced psychosis. With 7% of Australian children and adolescents (aged 0 – 17 years) experiencing mental health problems and only one in four receiving professional health care, a positive change is long overdue.

Australian farmers speak out about depression

2012-01-27T20:50:00.000+10:00

Harvester of Sorrow from Patrick Tombola on Vimeo.

E-health key trial halted by specifications glitch

2012-01-24T07:46:00.004+10:00

MOST of the trial sites for the federal government's electronic health record project have been taken offline after it was discovered they were working to different specifications than the planned national model.

The National E-Health Transition Authority (NEHTA) halted the rollout of primary care desktop software at 10 trial sites on Friday blaming incompatibility with the national specifications.

by: Sean Parnell - From: The Australian - January 24, 2012 12:00AM

Positive Change – Investing in Mental Health

2011-12-19T08:35:00.004+10:00

Mental health awareness and well being strategies are urgent public concerns. Mental illness has the third highest burden of disease in Australia with approximately 45% of adults experiencing a mental illness at some stage of their lives, including alcohol or substance abuse disorders.

The 13th International Mental Health Conference will focus on the complex mental issues affecting the elderly including depression, dementia, delirium, paranoid disorders and anxiety. It will also explore the mental health issues of young Australians (aged 18 – 24 years) struggling with schizophrenia, depression, suicidal thoughts, bipolar, anxiety disorders and drug use and drug induced psychosis. With 7% of Australian children and adolescents (aged 0 – 17 years) experiencing mental health problems and only one in four receiving professional health care, a positive change is long overdue.

The conference will examine state, federal, international and COAG initiatives, early intervention strategies, validated treatments, suicide prevention and the effectiveness of mental health preventive measures.

Featuring Australia and New Zealand's finest clinical practitioners, academics, and mental health experts the conference will motivate and inspire professionals (and future professionals) by sharing information about

• on-going research and findings, policies and organisational models
• development of new knowledge and the implementation of programs and strategies
• effective use of scarce resources

The conference will focus on:
• State, Federal and International initiatives addressing mental health needs.
• Planning and initiatives of the COAG task force.
• Research validation of early intervention strategies and treatments for drug induced psychosis, trauma and depression.
• Research validated treatments designed to facilitate recovery, particularly in the areas of depression and trauma.
• Initiatives and best practice in suicide prevention
• Examine and critically review the effectiveness of preventive approaches used in the field of mental health
Keynote addresses, submitted papers, workshops and case studies will examine how approaches and techniques can be incorporated into daily practise.

The conference streams will include:
• Multi-level Government initiatives and policies
• Early interventions
• Recovery treatments
• Prevention treatments (including suicide)
• Workforce re-integration – best practice? What treatments are most efficacious

Visit the conference website
The 13th International Mental Health Conference
6th to the 8th of August 2012
Outrigger Inn (formerly Holiday Inn) Gold Coast, Qld