❓ Question regarding funding allocation to the Kimberley region from the State-wide Aboriginal Mental Health Service, evidence supporting program claims, and reconciliation with Auditor General's findings on suicide prevention.
AnsweredQoN 2932Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
I refer to the government media statement of May 8 2014 entitled Supporting and Protecting the Community and ask: (a) what is the proportion and amount of funding from the State-wide Aboriginal Mental Health Service that is allocated to the Kimberley; (b) noting the claim in the statement that the program has delivered positive early results, can the Minister please outline the evidence on which the claims are based; and (c) how does this reconcile with the Auditor General's findings in his report entitled The Implementation and Initial Outcomes of the Suicide Prevention Strategy ?
AnswerView source ↗
Answered
16 October 2014
Responded by
Parliamentary Secretary representing the Minister for Mental Health
Response time
35 days
a) From 1 July to 31 December 2014, 24.5% ($1,164,820) of SSAMHS funding will be allocated to the Kimberley.
b) An interim evaluation of the State-wide Specialist Aboriginal Mental Health Service was undertaken by the Western Australian Centre for Mental Health Policy Research in 2012. The interim evaluation found the following:
· An upward trend in the number of Aboriginal people coming in contact with mental health services;
· A decline in the ratio of Aboriginal to non-Aboriginal people using Emergency Departments since the Metropolitan SAMHS started in July 2011;
· A small but upward trend in the use of community-based services in the metropolitan area; and
· A decline in the use of mental health inpatient units in the metropolitan area.
Since 2010/11, the annual number of clinical contacts delivered to Aboriginal consumers by community mental health services has increased by more than 50% across Western Australia. (Source: Mental Health Information System, WA Department of Health. Data extracted 23 July 2014).
c) The Auditor General's findings acknowledged that communities and organisations have benefited from suicide prevention activities funded by the Western Australian Suicide Prevention Strategy 2009-2013 (the Strategy).
b) An interim evaluation of the State-wide Specialist Aboriginal Mental Health Service was undertaken by the Western Australian Centre for Mental Health Policy Research in 2012. The interim evaluation found the following:
· An upward trend in the number of Aboriginal people coming in contact with mental health services;
· A decline in the ratio of Aboriginal to non-Aboriginal people using Emergency Departments since the Metropolitan SAMHS started in July 2011;
· A small but upward trend in the use of community-based services in the metropolitan area; and
· A decline in the use of mental health inpatient units in the metropolitan area.
Since 2010/11, the annual number of clinical contacts delivered to Aboriginal consumers by community mental health services has increased by more than 50% across Western Australia. (Source: Mental Health Information System, WA Department of Health. Data extracted 23 July 2014).
c) The Auditor General's findings acknowledged that communities and organisations have benefited from suicide prevention activities funded by the Western Australian Suicide Prevention Strategy 2009-2013 (the Strategy).
Explore WA Government Data
Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.
Explore more
Government Gazette
Appointments, regulatory notices, planning changes.
Hansard
Debates, questions, speeches and sentiment.
Tabled Papers
Reports and documents tabled in Parliament.
Committees
Committee profiles and recent reports.
Regulations
Subsidiary legislation with filters and summaries.
Bills
Proposed laws and parliamentary progress.
Acts
Current WA legislation and summaries.
Explanatory Memoranda
Bills with EMs (text/PDF) available.
Members
MP profiles, party breakdown and rankings.
Pollie Rankings
Data-driven rankings across 19 categories.
Amendment Chains
Track how schemes and regulations evolve over time.