Stanhope urged to speak out in support of mental health services

ACT Greens MLA Deb Foskey has called for Chief Minister Jon Stanhope to make a stand in support of mental health services ahead of tomorrow's Council of Australian Governments (COAG) meeting.

She claims treatments such as home consultations and easier access to psychologists may help prevent more serious conditions such as mental breakdown.

"They need support for their families, they need support at schools. We need services that identify kids at risk in the schools and I think that we also need much better transport and much thought about activities for young people out of school and work hours," she said.

Government figures from 2004 show Canberra men and women were more than twice as likely to have high levels of personal stress as the national average.

Ms Foskey says the ACT and Federal Governments need to do more to assist the treatment of mental illness.

"It's high time governments at both levels got real about tackling mental health issues and that means not just focusing on crisis support, that means designing services around patients' needs," she said.

Source: ABC Health News

Date: 09/02/06