The stigma surrounding mental health can stop some people from seeking help.
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This week, as part of Mental Health Week, Mount Isa police crime prevention co-ordinator Sergeant Cath Purcell talked about the difficulties that mental challenges officers faced regularly.
Sergeant Purcell said every day police were faced with people affected by mental health issues and in turn it could be hard on them.
“Being a police officer is a tough job in lots of different ways,” she said.
Officers would attend many cases involving mental health and well-being, be the first to respond to a suicide, a triple zero call that a loved one was attempting to commit suicide, or respond urgently to a violent altercation because of drug or alcohol abuse.
Sergeant Purcell said police officers also faced the hatred of members of society who did not want to be policed, or did not believe that society’s rules apply to them.
“As someone who has experienced all of these things, and watched my colleagues experience the same, I am passionate about Mental Health Week, and reducing the stigma surrounding this topic that often stops people from getting help early,” she said.
“I know that looking after your well-being is really important, and that means doing things to take care of yourself all the time, before a problem becomes too big to manage. If you know that you don’t feel quite right, or you notice that things have changed and aren’t the same, I urge you to seek help from someone, talk about it, or make the changes in your life that will have a positive impact on your well-being.”
Queensland’s Aboriginal and Islander community-controlled health organisations have called for greater co-ordination in the funding and delivery of mental health services.
New statistics show patients were treated for mental health issues in north-west Queensland more than 9000 times in 2014-15, a dramatic rise from 2008 when there were 850.
North West Hospital and Health Service director of mental health Sandra Kennedy said the figures indicated a positive trend, with “people willing to get help".