No fix from John Brumby for our ailing mental health systemFriday, April 23, 2010 John Brumby has failed to secure desperately-needed new funding from Kevin Rudd for Victorians with a mental illness, Shadow Minister for Mental Health Mary Wooldridge said today. Only two per cent of the funding in the deal signed by John Brumby has been allocated to mental health, despite the fact that mental health is linked to more than 20 per cent of all health-related disability. "Victorians already know that John Brumby only secured one-fifth of the hospital funding he sought from Kevin Rudd, but now they are realising he has also agreed to a deal which short-changed them on mental health," Ms Wooldridge said. "John Brumby has failed to ensure that mental health was properly considered, despite his bluster and boasting on national health reform issues. "John Brumby’s failure is a bitter blow for around one million Victorians suffering from a mental illness as well as the professionals in the field doing their best with inadequate state funding to identify and treat these illnesses. "John Brumby’s incompetent Minister for Mental Health has been silent during this debate, once again showing her inability to stand up for Victorians suffering from a mental illness. "Mental health experts are already predicting that the new agreement will result in people with mental illnesses being pushed into already overburdened hospitals across Victoria. "Having signed this poor health deal with Kevin Rudd, John Brumby must now guarantee that patients with a mental illness are included in the new four-hour National Access Target to ensure patients in emergency departments are admitted, referred or discharged. "However, this target is unlikely to be met given that John Brumby and his incompetent Minister cannot even meet their current target of 80 per cent of people who present to emergency departments being admitted to a mental health bed within eight hours. "It is clear that John Brumby puts Labor ahead of the interests of Victorians with a mental illness," Ms Wooldridge said.
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