Bass MP Jordan Crugnale hosted a roundtable with the Minister for Mental Health Gabrielle Williams at the Phillip Island Health Hub last week.
Stakeholders were able to spend quality time with Minister Williams, and a senior executive member from the Victorian Department of Health, to outline the region’s opportunities for improvement.
Those in attendance included Jan Child Bass Coast Health (BCH) chief executive, Paul Greenhalgh South Gippsland Hospital (SGH) chief executive, local police, paramedics, mental health clinicians, and, Bass Coast College.
BCH, on behalf of the South Gippsland Coast Partnership (comprising Gippsland Southern Health Service, SGH, Koo Wee Rup Health Service and BCH) have undertaken consultation, across the two shires on a mental health service plan for the sub-region.
The planning exercise is in the final stages of developing a series of recommendations to improve future service delivery.
Stakeholders were also able to discuss the 2022/23 Budget which included $12 million to support families whose children and young people are accessing acute care in regional Victoria, including Gippsland, with programs for parents to help strengthen relationships with their children and increase skills and confidence to support emerging mental health and wellbeing challenges.
In the nearly 18 months since the Royal Commission handed down its report, considerable work has started on providing support in the Gippsland region including tailored support for young people and the Hospital Outreach Post-suicidal Engagement (HOPE) program for people in a mental health crisis.
This recent visit follows the successful and productive roundtable convened last year which was attended by a large number of local services and organisations.
Ms Crugnale said she was working to improve care across the community.
“There is a strong appetite and absolute commitment by all our agencies, organisations and services in the sector to work together to create a truly integrated system for our mental health service users in Bass Coast and South Gippsland,” she said.
“This incredible group is completely aligned about the needs of our sub-region and this roundtable was all about delivering more Mental Health Services locally.“
The Victorian Budget 2022/23 provided $1.3 billion for brand-new Mental Health and Wellbeing initiatives for all Victorians building on last year’s record investment of $3.8 billion.
