Sarah waited more than 24 hours with her suicidal son in emergency.Credit:Rhett Wyman
“Their hands are tied as well,” Sarah said of those working in the sector. “But you know that unless you are advocating for your child and present and able to fight for them,they won’t be able to access help.”
In another incident,her then 15-year-old was admitted to an adult psychiatric ward because no paediatric beds were available.
“They were exposed in an environment that was completely inappropriate for them,” she said.
The alliance is asking the state government to allocate funding proportionate to the burden of disease by pursuing a new mental health funding revenue stream,such as the payroll tax levies recently introduced in Victoria and Queensland.
Since 2022,the Victorian government has imposed a 0.5 per cent mental health and wellbeing surcharge on employers with taxable wages of more than $10 million,and 1 per cent on employers with taxable wages of more than $100 million. The additional levy raised $912 million in 2023-24.
NSW Mental Health Minister Rose Jackson said she “completely agreed” that more needed to be done to protect the mental health of people in NSW,particularly youth,and that the state government valued and respected the advocacy of the alliance.
“That’s why we’re looking at various ways to adequately meet the mental health needs of our vulnerable communities,” Jackson said.
She said a short-term “gaps analysis” of shortages in the sector was due to be finalised shortly,with actions to follow.
“Throughout 2024,NSW Health will undertake a more thorough analysis to understand exactly what investment is required to comprehensively meet the mental health needs of people in NSW,” she added.
“The alliance will play a vital role in this process;from this point we will be able to understand and explore what revenue or funding stream is required to bridge the gaps in our system.”
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