❓ Mr. L'Estrange questions the reduction in Mental Health Commission staffing amidst rising methamphetamine use and increased demand for mental health services. The Minister responds by stating the government is shifting resources to frontline services and investing in infrastructure.
AnsweredQoN 359Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
MENTAL HEALTH COMMISSION —
STAFFING
359. Mr S.K. L'ESTRANGE to the Minister for Health:
Why has the government cut staffing
to the Mental Health Commission by 12 per cent, from 276 full-time equivalents
in 2016–17 to 242 FTEs in 2019–20, at a time when
methamphetamine use has reached record levels and demand for mental health
services is increasing?
STAFFING
359. Mr S.K. L'ESTRANGE to the Minister for Health:
Why has the government cut staffing
to the Mental Health Commission by 12 per cent, from 276 full-time equivalents
in 2016–17 to 242 FTEs in 2019–20, at a time when
methamphetamine use has reached record levels and demand for mental health
services is increasing?
AnswerView source ↗
I
would like to thank the member for the question. The reason we are constantly
looking at staffing levels at our head offices is that we want to put
the resources on the frontline. We make no apologies for that. In the
Department of Health alone, we have reduced the number of senior executive
service staff from 59 to 32. That means that although we are putting
constraints in the overall budget, we can actually deliver more services on the
frontline. That is the reason we are increasing hospital funding at around 3.5 per
cent over the forward estimates.
In particular around methamphetamine
and other issues, as the member is all too aware, we are making that a significant
part of our strategy to ensure that we are implementing the Methamphetamine
Action Plan Taskforce—which reported recently, and we brought down our
responses—which is about making sure we get services to people when
they need it, and where they live, and making sure that we can intervene at
that moment of crisis to ensure that we have the services they need.
In addition, we are also making
significant infrastructure changes to our frontline services in emergency
departments. For instance, we now have the behavioural assessment unit and the
urgent care clinic toxicology unit at Royal
Perth Hospital emergency department. I have been there and seen it in action.
People come into the ED who are under significant stress because of the
impact of alcohol and other drugs and need a better environment in which to be
cared for—a secure environment that protects them from the impact of
drugs and protects other patients and staff from the impact of antisocial
behaviour.
We are actually investing more in
our frontline services. We can do that because we are putting in place a proper
management plan in our overall budgets.
would like to thank the member for the question. The reason we are constantly
looking at staffing levels at our head offices is that we want to put
the resources on the frontline. We make no apologies for that. In the
Department of Health alone, we have reduced the number of senior executive
service staff from 59 to 32. That means that although we are putting
constraints in the overall budget, we can actually deliver more services on the
frontline. That is the reason we are increasing hospital funding at around 3.5 per
cent over the forward estimates.
In particular around methamphetamine
and other issues, as the member is all too aware, we are making that a significant
part of our strategy to ensure that we are implementing the Methamphetamine
Action Plan Taskforce—which reported recently, and we brought down our
responses—which is about making sure we get services to people when
they need it, and where they live, and making sure that we can intervene at
that moment of crisis to ensure that we have the services they need.
In addition, we are also making
significant infrastructure changes to our frontline services in emergency
departments. For instance, we now have the behavioural assessment unit and the
urgent care clinic toxicology unit at Royal
Perth Hospital emergency department. I have been there and seen it in action.
People come into the ED who are under significant stress because of the
impact of alcohol and other drugs and need a better environment in which to be
cared for—a secure environment that protects them from the impact of
drugs and protects other patients and staff from the impact of antisocial
behaviour.
We are actually investing more in
our frontline services. We can do that because we are putting in place a proper
management plan in our overall budgets.
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