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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2002 Week 6 Hansard (15 May) . . Page.. 1644 ..

MR SMYTH (continuing):

House, Hyson Green and Hennessy House come into being. Even though there were difficulties in the staffing of Hennessy House, the intention was always there.

In the budget for the current financial year, there are programs worth $1.6 million directed towards assisting those with a mental health problem. But that is not enough, and it is not where we intended to leave it. Part of our continuing strategy to address the needs of those with mental health difficulties in the ACT was to build on this foundation. Part of that would have been answered in the construction of a prison with a forensic unit. People, including the Canberra Schizophrenia Fellowship and the Chief Magistrate, Ron Cahill, are calling for that.

Even better than dealing with people who reach the criminal justice system is the concept of early intervention. "Prevention is better than cure" is a line that is often used. When I talk about a time-out facility, I speak about people who, through a difficulty caused by a mental health problem, come to the attention of the law being treated in a different way.

This is important, firstly, because we need to make sure they get the care and attention they deserve. We should not lumber them with an additional burden that complicates the person's life and the lives of those around them. Secondly, in my belief it is not appropriate, where it can be avoided, to put people with a mental health difficulty into the criminal justice system. Hence the time-out facility. If the government had bothered to read some of the consultation documents that were put to the health committee, they would understand where this has come from.

Several of the documents put to us in the health budget consultation talk about a safe sobering-up place which includes clinical supervision. I spoke with people with an interest in mental health and asked what they thought the concept of the sobering-up place should be. Their first reaction was simply: "Look, we are not really happy with the sobering-up place. The old sobering-up place used to be somewhere where a person who was intoxicated could be taken. When they sobered-up, they went home."

This is not necessarily the difficulty-although alcohol has a role in this-faced by those with a mental illness. Perhaps I can illustrate this through a story related to me numerous times by people in the mental health field, police officers and families.

When someone with a mental health problem, who goes off their medication-either because they are feeling good or because of circumstances-finds themselves upset, it is called a disturbance. The normal process is to call the crisis team. The crisis team may or may not arrive, but the police may also be called. The police often arrive first. People in an agitated state, when confronted by a police officer, sometimes do things they will regret. The difficulty for the police officer is that he or she has to take some action.

The normal action is to take them to hospital for assessment. The police tell me that, time and time again, the hospital is full. They say that, when they arrive, the person has either calmed down, or is able to convince the people at the mental health unit of the hospital that they are okay to go home, and the person is released. However, they come to the attention of the police again when they get home.

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