MENTAL health services are in an appalling state and must be made a priority if the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians is to be reduced, the chairman of the National Mental Health Commission said.
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The National Mental Health Commission has released its inaugural national report card on mental health, making ten specific recommendations, including making the mental health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples a "higher priority".
The Commission's chairman, Professor Allan Fels, said that cardiovascular disease and mental illness were the two leading drivers for burden of disease, yet mental health was not currently included in 'Closing the Gap' targets.
As a result, training and employment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in mental health services "must increase" and there must be better support for families.
The report said that Indigenous Australians had twice the number of suicides than other Australians and that they used psychiatric disability services at double the rate of non-Indigenous Australians.
North West Hospital and Health Service executive director for mental health Sandra Kennedy said that she absolutely agreed with the recommendations.
"We need for the community to work together and focus particularly on early intervention and prevention of mental illness," she said. "Mental illness impacts on every aspect of health."
The report also recommended reducing the early death of Australians with severe mental illness and improving their physical health, after Professor Fels said the statistics were "appalling".
"People with a severe mental illness have their life expectancy reduced by 25 years on average due to the increased likelihood of heart related conditions, diabetes and obesity," he said.
The report, titled A Contributing Life: the 2012 Report Card on Mental Health and Suicide Prevention, also recommended increasing access to home-based visits to support families and children; providing local interventions to prevent suicide and increasing the employment rates of people with mental illness.
Phil Barwick, chairman of the Central and North West Queensland Medicare Local, said that mental health services were one of the main focuses of the Medicare Local. "We are absolutely focused on improving the delivery, integration, and coordination of health services into all levels of our communities," he said. However, Mr Barwick stressed that the Commission's goal of enabling 12 per cent of the population to access mental health services may be "a bit of an ask in this region".
