By CAMERON LUCADOU-WELLS
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MENTAL health funding casts Melbourne’s south-east as a “poor cousin” compared to other parts of Melbourne, says the head of a mental illness service.
Ermah community health service chief executive Peter Waters said funding in the south-east growth corridor was “almost disgraceful” and at significantly lower levels than other areas.
Mr Waters said mental health resources in Melbourne’s inner west made Dandenong look like “a very poor cousin”.
“There’s considerably stronger political will for more services but it isn’t being delivered on the ground in the south-east. That resource gap hasn’t improved in the past 14 years I’ve worked in Dandenong.”
He said the service was unable to connect with a large number of potential clients because of the funds shortage.
The Weekly asked the Department of Health for a per-capita funding comparison for the south-east and other parts of Melbourne.
A spokesman did not provide the figures but said all mental health services were funded under “policy and funding guidelines 2011-12”.
“The Coalition government has committed to investing in services that best help Victorians with mental illness, their families and their carers, with more than $100 million new funding committed in the last budget.”
■ The state government closed the Mental Health Advice Line last Monday night after almost two years in operation because it had not “met expectations”.
Figures for 2010 showed that southern suburbs, including the cities Dandenong. Monash, Maroondah, Yarra, Knox and Casey, recorded the second highest number of calls at 22 per cent.
In January last year, the line received about 1117 calls, more than a third of which needed urgent attention.
“The Mental Health Advice Line has not met expectations since it started in 2009,” a spokesman for Mental Health Minister Mary Woolridge said.
“Discontinuing the service will help reduce the confusion in the community around the number of telephone lines people can call.
“From March 19, anyone calling the mental health advice line will be transferred to [the 24-hour] Nurse-on-Call [1300 606 024].”
– with Daniel Tran
