Minister for Health and Ambulance Services Yvette D’ath met with the Council in July to discuss the Minister’s priorities for mental health, alcohol and other drugs, and suicide prevention.
The Minister dedicated an hour to open discussion with the Advisory Council, and outlined her commitment to ongoing reform under the Shifting minds strategic plan and Every life suicide prevention plan.
We are delighted to announce that Jennifer Pouwer has been appointed as the interim chief executive officer of the new Mental Health Lived Experience Peak Queensland.
Jennifer has worked in, and learnt from diverse people, within the health and community services sectors for over 25 years and most recently within the community managed mental health sector.
Her professional journey has been informed and strengthened by her own lived experience of recovery and reclamation. Jennifer will use personal experience and professional skills, knowledge and networks to ensure the needs and voices of diverse communities are heard within the mental health system.
Her passion continues to be exploring and presenting how health systems are influenced by many determinants and to envision a future where, through advocacy, measurable change is realised.
Jennifer is temporarily working from the Commission and can be contacted via the temporary email below. Congratulations Jennifer.
We’re delighted to announce Cindy Heddle as the new Queensland carer representative on the National Mental Health Consumer and Carer Forum.
The forum is the avenue for consumers and carers to be involved in shaping national mental health policy. Cindy is a dedicated lived experience carer peer and advocate for families, with a passion for mental health and crisis reform.
Jorgen Gullestrup has made the difficult decision to hang up his hi-vis vest after many significant achievements during his time as the Chief Executive of MATES in Construction Queensland.
As many of you will know, Jorgen has dedicated the last 14 plus years as a not-for profit pioneer and leader within the field of mental health and suicide prevention.
Within the first five years of operation, Queensland’s construction industry achieved an 8% suicide rate reduction under Jorgen’s leadership. Since then, he has continued to lead the expansion of the Queensland program, which is now reaching over 138,000 workers across four Australian States.
Jorgen’s work has been recognised nationally and internationally. I am sure that the Queensland’s construction industry and my colleagues in the mental health and suicide prevention sector will want to join me in acknowledging Jorgen for his outstanding contributions, and wish him all the very best in his future endeavours.
Legal advice on employing peer workers
In an excellent outcome for the lived experience workforce, legal advice confirms that it is lawful, under the Anti-Discrimination Act 1991 (the Act), to advertise and fill identified positions for people with a lived experience of mental illness and recovery, problematic AOD use or suicidality.
To remove a systemic barrier and provide clarity the Commission had sought legal advice on employing for positions specified as lived experience. The advice confirms that it is lawful to:
create identified positions for people with lived experience
advertise lived experience as a mandatory requirement of the position
undertake targeted recruitment to appoint people to those positions who have lived experience.
It has also been confirmed that lived experience is likely to be a genuine occupational requirement for the purpose of section 25 of the Act. The engagement of a lived experience workforce would also likely be a welfare measure under section 104 and/or an equal opportunity measure under section 105 of the Act.
The legal advice means organisations can plan for lived experience identified positions with confidence, provided lived experience is a genuine occupational requirement, and employers consider sections 104 and 105 of the Act as relevant to the role.
Tender - analysis of community mental health sector
The Commission has released a tender for a consultancy to conduct a systematic analysis of the non-government community mental health services sector in Queensland.
We are currently working in partnership with the Queensland Alliance for Mental Health to gain a comprehensive understanding of the current environment, strengths, challenges, barriers and opportunities for the sector
The project will provide an information base to leverage opportunities to advance and support the growth, development and sustainability of the sector, and in turn provide better outcomes for people using these services.
The project aligns with the Shifting minds strategic intent to refocus the system towards community-based services and supports; and is underpinned by an understanding of the fundamental value of community mental health services—both in terms of benefits to service users, and reducing the need for more costly hospital-based services. The tender closes on 31 August 2021.
The value of community mental health services is well known. The system cannot keep relying on costly acute services, when better outcomes are obtained by intervening earlier and providing the right services at the right time, in the right place.
The Queensland Alliance for Mental Health’s new report, Wellbeing First provides a fresh vision for the future of non-government community mental health services in Queensland.
The QAMH calls for fundamental changes to the way community mental wellbeing services in Queensland are funded and positioned, highlighting the critical value of community services.
Launching the Wellbeing First report, Commissioner Ivan Frkovic said the Commission and the QAMH are collaborating on work that will identify the imperatives to support the growth, development and sustainability of the community mental health sector.
The Commission continues to advocate for more discretion in regard to Queensland’s locked wards policy, in line with the Commission’s 2014 paper on least restrictive practices in locked wards.
In 2013, the Queensland Government brought in a policy to lock all acute adult public mental health inpatient wards. It was aimed at preventing harm as a result of involuntary patients leaving without permission. Concerns were raised at the time by sector stakeholders however the policy remains.
A new article, in the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, examines the policy, concluding that the locked ward policy “constrains the rights of all patients admitted to mental health wards”.
Co-authored by academics in Queensland and Melbourne, the paper critically examines the policy, the legislative and human rights frameworks and asks the question: Is there any evidence to support the locked wards policy?
The Queensland locked ward directive is unique among Australian states. The paper argues that “the most pernicious effect of the locked wards policy may be that it has prevented evidence-based approaches to management of the risk of absconding”.
The paper’s authors recommend a review of the policy, considering human rights principals and international research.
*Please note, this article is not open source, and only the abstract is available to read free of charge.
Included in the State Budget health allocation is $43 million funding to expand the Gold Coast University Hospital to deliver a secure mental health rehabilitation unit, and $11.4 million for mental health service projects at Hervey Bay and Maryborough hospitals.
Expenditure on other programs, which relate to mental health and AOD, include:
A continuation and expansion of the Youth Justice Strategy collectively worth $113.5 million
Increased domestic violence support including $30 million to boost domestic, family and sexual violence support services across the State
A $300 million spend on a Path to Treaty fund and $40.8 million allocated to deliver 47 social housing dwellings in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities
$14 million allocated towards a $100 million, three-year student wellbeing package to provide increased access to guidance officers and other student support personnel in Queensland state schools and to pilot GPs in 20 state secondary schools.
$8.3 million over four years and $2.1 million annually to provide financial, employment, housing and mental health assistance to people seeking asylum and humanitarian entrants with a temporary protection visa in Queensland.
IIMHL - AOD stigma & discrimination in the workforce
Commissioner Ivan Frkovic recently co-hosted an International Initiative for Mental Health Leadership regional exchange.
Co-hosting with Dr Emma Schwarcz, the clinical director of Community Alcohol and Drug Services Auckland, the exchange examined AOD-related stigma and discrimination and the workforce.
The match facilitated discussion on defining and understanding the impact of stigma and discrimination for people who use drugs, their families and the alcohol and other drug workforce. The importance of language was also examined, including the impact of stigmatising language, current research and best practice resources.
The match examined the challenges and opportunities for the AOD workforce and looked at recent research and consultations with people using health services, their families and the clinical, non-clinical and peer workforce.
Plans are also underway for the IIMHL/IIDL leadership exchange to be held in Christchurch from February 28 to March 4, 2022. The theme of the leadership exchange is “Valuing Inclusion, Resilience and Growth”.
The Queensland Mental Health Week Achievement Awards are open for nominations across 11 categories, with $5,000 available in prize money.
Run by Open Minds and now in their 25th year, the Awards recognise and celebrate the achievements of those working to reduce stigma and empower those living with mental illnesses.
The Achievement Awards take place during Queensland Mental Health Week on Friday 15th October 2021. Get your tickets ASAP, as this event is always a sell-out. The deadline for award nominations is Monday 9 August 2021.
A $21 million expansion of the Belmont Private Hospital at Carina, in Brisbane’s south, is underway, adding to the state's future pool of mental health beds.
The expansions will cater for maternal and infant mental health and adolescent mental health. The new six-level building, to be completed in mid-2022 will increase beds at the Belmont facility by 35 to a total of 185 beds. Well done.
The Kingaroy community is working through recent tough times by supporting community mental health and wellbeing under a new initiative called SMILE.
The Kingaroy Chamber of Commerce and Industries has allocated $10,000 to get the information, leadership and education program up and running. A great initiative led by the business community, as community leadership and action is vital for thriving mental health.
As I write, Queensland is in another lockdown around a wave of COVID-19 delta variant infections. Please stay safe, stay home and look after your physical and mental health. Don’t forget this range of resources available on our website and share this newsletter with anyone you think may be interested.
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