Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . .

Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 10 Hansard (25 September) . . Page.. 3289 ..

MS REILLY (continuing):

We met with workers in both the public and non-public areas. We had opportunities to talk to these workers, both formally and informally, about the issues surrounding their work, and I think this was an important part of the process. We should acknowledge particularly the work and efforts put in by the bureaucrats to provide the committee with information. They were quite open, in a number of cases, about what was happening in the area, and I think this is to be commended. It gives us all hope that there will be good outcomes from this report and improvements to the delivery of mental health services in the ACT. We also had the opportunity as a committee to attend an international conference in Brisbane. Speaking personally, I found it a good opportunity to get access to a broad range of information and people who are practitioners in the area.

I want particularly to acknowledge the work done and the information provided by a number of people in the community. A quite large number of people have participated in the development of this report. Many people were open and honest in telling us what was happening and shared with us personal experiences, some of which were extremely painful; but they thought it was important enough for the committee to realise what was required in the area to tell us what their personal experiences were. I think these people are to be commended for providing this sort of information to the community.

We are talking about a quite large number of people in the area of mental health. The statistics are easy to quote; they tell us how many thousands there are of this age or that age and what sort of illnesses they have. But we need to recognise how many people are affected, both directly and indirectly, by mental illness and mental health services. When there are gaps in services, when services are not adequate, it creates havoc for a number of people - in the first instance, those who suffer from mental illness. If they cannot get access to the services they need, their illness is exacerbated and their suffering and distress are increased.

For that reason alone, we have to be very careful in looking at how we provide mental health services in the ACT. What sort of community would deliberately leave people in distress and pain? As well, there are the many relatives, friends and supporters of people with mental illness, who also are affected by inadequate services or services that do not meet the need. It is important that we remember that they are part of this whole process, that they are part of ensuring that we get the best information and, consequently, the best services.

There are also many workers in the area, in both the public and non-public areas. There is a broad range of services in the ACT and a number of people working in different areas - a very dedicated, very professional group of people. We need to acknowledge their work and try to assist them to make their work better. There are also members of the community. I am sure most people know somebody who has a mental illness. It is an unfortunate part of our community that mental illness does affect a number of people, and those who have relationships, networks, or whatever, with these people are also affected. People, by default, become affected when a crisis happens and it is not handled in a way that is good for both the person involved and others members of the community. I do not want to dwell on that, but we should recognise how widely mental health services affect people in the ACT.

Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . .