Mental health access stretched
People access emergency health care at times of great need. When that health care is so stretched and under resourced that even a clinician with intimate knowledge of the system can’t access adequate care, you know we’re in a crisis.
This is where we find mental health in Australia according to AMACDT Deputy Chair, Dr Bernadette Wilks, in a recent opinion piece published in Australian Medicine.
“This shock is not a response to the work of health care workers. On the contrary, it is their herculean hard work that compensates for scarce resources. Instead, it is a disbelief that despite increased societal focus on improving the mental health of all Australians, the required infrastructure is crumbling” said Dr Wilks.
“While efforts to address the unique aspects of doctors’ mental health abound, tailored approaches do nothing to fill the void where quality, broadly available, adequately resourced mental health services should be. Urgent, bipartisan support is needed to raise the bar of mental health care provision to meet community demand. Doctors aren’t always that different, after all. Doctors and medical students needing help can get access to the Australia-wide network of independent, confidential, doctors’ health advisory and referral services.”
