In February 2019, the Victorian Government established a Royal Commission on the Mental Health System in Victoria, the first of its kind in Australia. This is a “once in a generation opportunity” to accelerate improvements in mental health services, service navigation and models of care.
Nearly 18 months later, the Royal Commission has made interim recommendations and is due to hand down its final report in February 2021. What are these recommendations? What will they mean for people living with mental health challenges, for their carers and loved ones, and for the service system that provides mental health support? What specific opportunities are likely to come from the Royal Commission’s recommendations in terms of improvements to mental health support, and what kind of gaps and challenges might still remain?
This week, GET REAL talks to an expert panel with a real stake in these outcomes, including Angus Clelland, CEO of Mental Health Victoria; Dr Peter Langkamp, former President of Carers Australia; and Karenza Louis-Smith, CEO of ermha365 – a provider of complex mental health and disability services throughout Victoria.