Page 2857 - Week 10 - Thursday, 7 October 2021
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commonwealth to develop bilateral agreements to address developments and initiatives that meet local needs. The ACT government is seeking agreements that support initiatives that align with the Productivity Commission’s final report, including a focus on early intervention and prevention, and that integrate with services outside of the health system to address the social and economic determinants of mental health.
As a priority, we need to improve service system access for people who are at increased risk of mental ill-health. Engagement, collaboration and co-design with people with lived experience of mental illness, and their carers, is critical to achieving meaningful change for our community. The significant investments and improvements we are making align with key priority areas in the ACT Parliamentary and Governing Agreement, including children and young people, justice and community safety, drug law reform, and the mental health and wellbeing of older people. This support will also address key recommendations from the standing committee’s inquiry into youth mental health in the ACT and the review of children and young people in the ACT by the Office for Mental Health and Wellbeing in 2020.
I would like to take the opportunity to provide a progress update on some of our key initiatives. The new Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Suicide Prevention, Intervention, Postvention, and Aftercare Service aims to address the higher rates of suicide among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people through the delivery of culturally appropriate models of care. I look forward to announcing the non-government organisation which will deliver this much-needed service, and thank all those involved, including the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Suicide Prevention Working Group, which I look forward to continuing to work with.
The Office for Mental Health and Wellbeing continues to prioritise its multifaceted approach to suicide prevention in the ACT, including programs for young people, with a particular focus on prevention and early intervention—such as through the Youth Aware of Mental Health program—and improving the skills and confidence of frontline workers in addressing suicidal ideation. The first Safe Haven Cafe in the ACT is also being progressed, and will commence operation in November, and work continues towards the planning for a second Safe Haven Cafe.
Our frontline workers in the police, ambulance, clinician emergency response team—PACER—have provided critical support for people experiencing acute distress in the community. The expansion of PACER to seven days per week, and funding for a second team to meet increased demand on services during the current COVID restrictions, has reduced presentations to the emergency department and supported people to continue receiving care in the community. This year also saw the opening of a new step up, step down service in Garran. Our five residential and one outreach step up, step down services provide a step-up from community, with additional support to prevent the need for acute inpatient admission; or a step-down from an acute inpatient stay to continue recovery and smoothly transition back to living at home.
The Office for Mental Health and Wellbeing continues its leadership role in driving whole-of-government and whole-of-community action to improve mental health and wellbeing across the ACT. I thank Dr Elizabeth Moore for her guidance and
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