Who cares about the people?

"Starting from 1 November 2011, the federal government cut public access to psychological services in the Better Access to Mental Health Care program by 44%. Prior to November, people who had a common mental health disorder, like depression or anxiety, could go to see a GP and get a referral to a therapist for psychological services for up to 18 sessions per year. This program had been running successfully since 2006, with a huge uptake from people with serious levels of distress who for the most part had never reached out for help in prior years. The program was recently evaluated and was given a glowing report card, showing that the treatment was cost effective and delivered positive clinical outcomes for the over 80% of people with 'severe' levels of distress who received psychological services." [Alliance for Better Access] 

Since the federal government's decision to temporarily restore some services to the Better Access Program in February this year, there have been numerous groups continuing to campaign in the background for full restoration of all services (eg: Australian Psychological Society and the Alliance for Better Access). In less than 6 months, the government will revert to ten (10) only Medicare subsidised sessions for people experiencing mental ill health under the Better Access Program. This is a tragedy in the making!


The campaign for full restoration of Better Access did receive a huge boost in May 2012 when Professor Patrick McGorry, former Australian of the Year, came out in full support of the program. "We need to stop thousands of Australians from falling through the cracks," he said. "Better Access is one of the most valuable and effective steps in mental health reform in Australia in recent times. It has enabled large numbers of people to gain access for the first time to mental healthcare at the level of frontline primary care and to reduce the over-reliance on medication alone as the only practical strategy for GPs as first-line therapy." Yet still our government is prepared to go ahead with planned cuts despite knowing that adequate services will not be in place to meet demand.

One of the saddest consequences of the government's stubborn stance on cuts to the Better Access Program, has been genuinely at risk people coming to believe that they are a burden on the 'system' and do not deserve access to mental health care. (Please Read Claire's Story) This flies in the face of every public dollar ever spent on raising awareness for mental health and imploring people to seek help. What's the point when help is not available? As mental health advocate, Wendy Le Cerf, recently stated: "People with serious mental illnesses will endure unnecessarily deep human suffering..." Another exasperated mental health advocate exclaimed:  "PEOPLE ARE GETTING LOST IN ALL THIS. THE PEOPLE. WHO CARES ABOUT THE PEOPLE?" 

This is no time for complacency. We must work harder now than ever before to ensure these cuts do not go through at the end of December 2012. Please, please, please - if you have not already done so - sign the petition and share it with all your family, friends, followers and colleagues. In addition, write to the politicians - keep the pressure up, let them know these cuts will significantly impact upon already vulnerable people and with 1 in 5 Australians experiencing mental ill health at some stage in their life, we cannot allow any more to fall through the cracks. I honestly believe that together we can do this. With enough public pressure we can send a loud and clear message to the government: WE ARE THE PEOPLE AND WE CARE!