Mental health groups relieved after last-minute funding reprieve from Health Minister Sussan Ley
By Amy Corderoy
Updated April 3, 2015 — 12.29am first published April 2, 2015 — 5.28pm
Mental health groups have been granted a last-minute funding reprieve from the federal government after Health Minister Sussan Ley announced a continuation of nearly $300 million in funding about to expire.
The money will go towards much needed online and telephone crisis and counselling lines such as Lifeline and Reachout, as well as other mental health services.
"The Abbott government is committed to working with the mental health sector to deliver effective, efficient and high-quality services": Sussan Ley. Credit:Andrew Meares
After the minister made the announcement on Thursday afternoon there was some confusion among mental health groups about exactly which organisations would be funded, however all welcomed the news.
The government is reviewing the mental health sector, and many long-standing programs had feared their funding would not be renewed, with reports staff were already leaving for new jobs.
Australia's world-leading electronic counselling services were particularly concerned, with much of the funding in the developing area coming from grants.
The sector was preparing to lobby for permanent, rather than grant-based, funding of online treatments and better integration with the mainstream system, which it says will save money and reach more people in need, particularly in rural and remote areas.
Ms Ley said the 12-month extension would allow frontline services to be delivered while the review continued.
"The Abbott government is committed to working with the mental health sector to deliver effective, efficient and high-quality services," she said.
Jono Nicholas, the chief executive of ReachOut, could not confirm if his organisation's funding had been renewed, but welcomed the news.
"We think this is a really good thing, we have been calling for some sort of assurance and security," he said.
The Australian Psychological Society also welcomed the funding, and was seeking further detail on who would receive it.
Helen Christensen, the director of the Black Dog Institute and an expert in online treatments, said a permanent solution needed to be found, and mental health urgently needed new models that allowed people to seek help online before moving to more expensive GP and psychologist care.
"This is the area where innovation in mental health is happening," she said. "It is about helping people to help themselves – teaching them coping skills is also highly cost-effective, and really helps with this problem of demand outstripping supply, particularly in rural and remote areas.
"The benefits are inexpensive, scalable, and supported by evidence."
It was estimated 600,000 Australians experience mild or moderate symptoms of depression and anxiety at any one time, and fewer than half of them receive any help.
Psychiatrist Gavin Andrews, also a global pioneer of online treatments, said he was delighted that after a difficult year the government had been able to provide a patch for the funding problem until they got their budget through.
He said in the long-term funding certainty was needed for online treatments, which were more effective for conditions such as depression.
"These types of services are enormously cost-effective and ten times cheaper than seeing someone face-to-face," he said.
A study of 420 patients who participated in Professor Andrew's online treatment program This Way Up, found 60 per cent recovered completely and 20 per cent improved. The proportion who experienced days they felt they were "better off dead" halved, while the number experiencing severe depression symptoms dropped from a third to one in ten.
"ICBT [internet-based cognitive behavioural therapy] is the treatment of choice for depression, across the board: mild, moderate to severe, young and old," he said. "Medications just don't work very well for mild to moderate depression."
Amy Corderoy
Amy is Health Editor for The Sydney Morning Herald. Before working at the Herald she worked as a freelance journalist and radio presenter, as well as writing for a number of publications for doctors. She also keeps a health blog at www.dailylife.com.au.