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Victorian mental health commission gives ‘new hope’ to profession
The release of the final report into the Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System has been welcomed by the state’s premier legal body on a “red-letter day” that offers “new hope” to the community.
Naomi Neilson
The Law Institute of Victoria (LIV) president Tania Wolff said that as a lawyer who works with those who are suffering from mental health and addiction in the community and who have been “caught up in the revolving door of the criminal justice system”, the release of the report has given renewed hope moving forward.
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The LIV is particularly supportive of a focus on treating addictions and mental health in an integrated way and responding with compassion. It also welcomed the need to greatly explore the mental health system across the state by giving additional beds to centres and expanding the Assessment and Referral Court.
The report also recommended establishing up to 60 community-based mental health services and introducing 22 high-level treatment services through hospitals. A focus on indirect interventions has been backed by strong evidence that accommodation stability improves mental health and wellbeing.
“The economic slowdown as a result of COVID-19 creates a tremendous opportunity for the government to inject a once in a generation stimulus package into recreating how Victoria approaches mental health, which will improve the lives of Victorians for many years to come,” the association body said in a statement.
The LIV has welcomed the royal commission’s “ambitious reinvention” of the mental health system, which includes the phasing out of seclusion and restraints and will move away from a medication-based system to an integrated service approach.
While also supportive of a new Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission and a new Mental Health and Wellbeing Act, the LIV is concerned that the short timeline raises some concerns. It cautioned that it was more important that these be established with “sufficient consideration and consultation” with relevant stakeholders.
