❓ Hon. Sally Talbot, on behalf of Hon. Stephen Dawson, questions the Minister for Mental Health regarding actions taken to address concerns raised in the Council of Official Visitors annual report. The Minister outlines several initiatives and reviews underway to improve mental health services and address specific incidents.
AnsweredQoN 1051Legislative Council
QuestionView source ↗
COUNCIL OF
OFFICIAL VISITORS ANNUAL REPORT
1051. Hon SALLY TALBOT to the Minister for Mental Health :
This question is being asked on behalf of Hon Stephen Dawson,
who is out of the chamber on urgent parliamentary business. I refer to the
Council of Official Visitors annual report tabled last week.
(1) What
actions, if any, has the minister instigated to remedy the concerns raised in
the council's annual report?
(2) Will the
minister commit to addressing all the council's concerns detailed in
the annual report; and, if so, by what time?
OFFICIAL VISITORS ANNUAL REPORT
1051. Hon SALLY TALBOT to the Minister for Mental Health :
This question is being asked on behalf of Hon Stephen Dawson,
who is out of the chamber on urgent parliamentary business. I refer to the
Council of Official Visitors annual report tabled last week.
(1) What
actions, if any, has the minister instigated to remedy the concerns raised in
the council's annual report?
(2) Will the
minister commit to addressing all the council's concerns detailed in
the annual report; and, if so, by what time?
AnswerView source ↗
(1)–(2)
I thank the member for asking the question on behalf of Hon Stephen Dawson. On
a broader level, a number of initiatives are in place to address the issues
raised in the ''Council of Official Visitors Annual Report 2012–13''.
In particular, with specific reference to the alleged misconduct of staff
members at a WA health mental health facility, I can advise that the matters
raised have been investigated by management, and the staff members concerned
are currently undergoing a process of formal counselling. The delay in the
timely investigation of this matter has also been reviewed and actions have
been undertaken to ensure that reviews such as this are conducted in a more
timely manner in future.
The acting director general of the
Department of Health and the chief executive of the South Metropolitan Health
Service met with the head of the Council of Official Visitors and an official
visitor on 3 December 2013 to discuss the matters raised by the Council of
Official Visitors in its annual report. The acting director general and the
chief executive of South Metropolitan Health Service have arranged to meet with
the patient to discuss the patient's concerns and apologise for the less
than satisfactory standard of care the patient received.
To increase the capacity of the
mental health system to meet current demand, the government has committed an
additional $131.4 million over the next four years to meet the increased demand
for public mental health services. The development of a 10-year mental health
services plan for Western Australia was recommended in the ''Review of
the admission or referral to and the discharge and transfer practices of public
mental health facilities/services in Western Australia'' by Professor
Bryant Stokes, AM, in 2012. This plan is a means of defining future service
needs and requirements as well as ensuring that future investment is targeted
to the areas of greatest need. It will be completed by mid-2014.
The progressive implementation of
other recommendations of Professor Stokes' report will also help to
make the mental health system more accountable and more responsive to patient,
carer and family needs. I think when we had the debate on this matter, I was able
to demonstrate how each of those recommendations is being addressed through the
Department of Health or that broader group of people involved in the
implementation.
The Mental Health Bill 2013, tabled
in the Legislative Assembly on 23 October 2013, provides a clear and
comprehensive complaints process; further safeguards around practices such as
seclusion and restraint; promotion of recovery-oriented practice and service
delivery, particularly in relation to care planning; and continued powers of
inspection of mental health services, including private psychiatric hostels.
These initiatives are part of a broad and ambitious reform agenda that aims to
deliver the type of mental health system Western Australia deserves, and that
the Council of Official Visitors works tirelessly to achieve.
(2) Many of
the concerns raised by the ''Council of Official Visitors Annual Report
2012–13'' are already being addressed through the initiatives I
have described. In addition, the Department of Health, the Mental Health Commission
and other agencies are reviewing the report to consider whether any further
specific responses in addition to these would be appropriate. Individual
incidents in this report that have significant impact on consumers are
automatically formally reviewed by mental health services. Learnings and
recommendations from these reviews are implemented within the services.
I thank the member for asking the question on behalf of Hon Stephen Dawson. On
a broader level, a number of initiatives are in place to address the issues
raised in the ''Council of Official Visitors Annual Report 2012–13''.
In particular, with specific reference to the alleged misconduct of staff
members at a WA health mental health facility, I can advise that the matters
raised have been investigated by management, and the staff members concerned
are currently undergoing a process of formal counselling. The delay in the
timely investigation of this matter has also been reviewed and actions have
been undertaken to ensure that reviews such as this are conducted in a more
timely manner in future.
The acting director general of the
Department of Health and the chief executive of the South Metropolitan Health
Service met with the head of the Council of Official Visitors and an official
visitor on 3 December 2013 to discuss the matters raised by the Council of
Official Visitors in its annual report. The acting director general and the
chief executive of South Metropolitan Health Service have arranged to meet with
the patient to discuss the patient's concerns and apologise for the less
than satisfactory standard of care the patient received.
To increase the capacity of the
mental health system to meet current demand, the government has committed an
additional $131.4 million over the next four years to meet the increased demand
for public mental health services. The development of a 10-year mental health
services plan for Western Australia was recommended in the ''Review of
the admission or referral to and the discharge and transfer practices of public
mental health facilities/services in Western Australia'' by Professor
Bryant Stokes, AM, in 2012. This plan is a means of defining future service
needs and requirements as well as ensuring that future investment is targeted
to the areas of greatest need. It will be completed by mid-2014.
The progressive implementation of
other recommendations of Professor Stokes' report will also help to
make the mental health system more accountable and more responsive to patient,
carer and family needs. I think when we had the debate on this matter, I was able
to demonstrate how each of those recommendations is being addressed through the
Department of Health or that broader group of people involved in the
implementation.
The Mental Health Bill 2013, tabled
in the Legislative Assembly on 23 October 2013, provides a clear and
comprehensive complaints process; further safeguards around practices such as
seclusion and restraint; promotion of recovery-oriented practice and service
delivery, particularly in relation to care planning; and continued powers of
inspection of mental health services, including private psychiatric hostels.
These initiatives are part of a broad and ambitious reform agenda that aims to
deliver the type of mental health system Western Australia deserves, and that
the Council of Official Visitors works tirelessly to achieve.
(2) Many of
the concerns raised by the ''Council of Official Visitors Annual Report
2012–13'' are already being addressed through the initiatives I
have described. In addition, the Department of Health, the Mental Health Commission
and other agencies are reviewing the report to consider whether any further
specific responses in addition to these would be appropriate. Individual
incidents in this report that have significant impact on consumers are
automatically formally reviewed by mental health services. Learnings and
recommendations from these reviews are implemented within the services.
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