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Friday Media Round Up – 30 November
11/30/2012This week has been dominated by the release of the National Mental Health Commissions Report Card. Below are just a few of the many articles relating to the report.
Please see below for the SPA response to the Report Card http://bit.ly/QH8yZQ
Are we stuck in groundhog day, when it comes to mental health and suicide prevention?
The first Natioanl Report Card on Mental Health and Suicide Prevention should be recognised as a significant effort, given the constraints under which it was produced. http://bit.ly/TuCUwh
headspace CEO support moves for Griffith centre
The national CEO of Headspace says the nation’s first mental health report card is depressing, because it highlights a lack of progress http://bit.ly/V7MAhy
Mental health resources cop $16 million hit
The Queensland government has siphoned off $16 million from the state’s mental health services this year in a trend that has worried the National Mental Health Commission.
http://bit.ly/116MCL9
Mental Health Commission reports ‘massive’ problems with services
The National Mental Health Commission wants to know more about how Australians with mental illnesses are being confined and restrained in institutions http://bit.ly/TpnQ2N
Young, male or indigenous more likely to suicide: report
DIVORCE, alcohol use, and the number of jobs in agriculture were three of the main factors driving the suicide rate in regional and remote Australia, a new report from the National Suicide Prevention Strategy revealed on Tuesday http://bit.ly/Tx2L95
Symposium introduces suicide prevention guidelines
Proposed clinical guidelines to help individuals at risk of attempting or completing suicide will be outlined at a mental health symposium, jointly presented by the University of South Australia and Country Health SA, in Whyalla on December 6 http://bit.ly/RjSYoB
SPA responds to A Contributing Life: the 2012 National Report Card on Mental Health and Suicide Prevention
11/28/2012The release of the National Mental Health Commission’s (NMHC) Report Card yesterday is a valuable step forward for the suicide prevention community. Suicide Prevention Australia (SPA) acknowledge and welcome the report, in particular we are pleased to see that suicide prevention has been set as a matter of national priority.
Many key issues raised by the Report Card are high on SPA’s radar as priority areas for the sector. In particular the importance of quality data in making informed evidence-based decisions about where Australia should invest money to save lives. We strongly agree with this finding and are currently leading the National Committee for Standardised Reporting of Suicide (NCSRS) which is working to improve the quality and availability of data on suicides across jurisdictions.
SPA also supports the NMHC in its highlighting the lived experience of those impacted by mental illness throughout the Report Card. The voices of individuals with lived experience is integral to our efforts to reduce suicide in Australia, and SPA endeavours to incorporate these voices in our activities. One such method of achieving this is our recently established Lived Experience Policy Advisory Committee (more information on LEPAC can be found here: https://suicidepreventionaust.org/project/lived-experience/).
Additionally, the Report Cards focus Indigenous mental health and suicide is also welcomed. SPA supports this and we in particular look forward to seeing the upcoming release of the National Aboriginal Torres Strait Islander Suicide Prevention Strategy.
Suicide Prevention Australia supports the NMHC’s focus on implementation (as opposed to more talk and policy) and keeping us honest by including and surveying those with lived experience of mental illness.
We see suicide prevention and mental health in general as requiring a whole community response and as such, we work with government, non-profits organisations, researchers, community members, and many other members of this community, in all of our activities. We will continue to do this, and use the key recommendations and issues raised by the Report Card as a driving force as we work towards our common goal to reduce suicide rates in Australia.
Friday Media Round Up – 23 November
11/23/2012This Sunday is White Ribbon Day. Here is a very powerful piece about violence within the family. http://bit.ly/Uuka0U
Here is the White Ribbon Day website for more information http://www.whiteribbon.org.au/
Police left to fill mental health gaps
The state urgently needs to review the handling of mentally ill people who are in such crisis that police are called to intervene. Too much police time is being spent trying to care for vulnerable people who really require attention from medical specialists who understand their needs http://bit.ly/R3tGLn
Jobless men at risk of suicide in boom time
An Australian study of unemployment and suicide has shown that jobless men are more likely to take their own lives during times of national economic prosperity http://bit.ly/10mEmWZ
Australian workers are stressed: study
There are millions of stressed workers in Australia and half of them feel uncomfortable talking about mental health with their bosses http://bit.ly/TjlhSe
Report to help tackle suicide in rural and remote areas
A new report launched by the Minister for Mental Health, Mark Butler, in Adelaide today has found that rural and regional communities face unique challenges in preventing and recovering from suicide http://bit.ly/V0tQEv
Friday Media Round Up – 16 November
11/15/2012Suicidal patients ‘fall through the cracks’
WA’s mental health services are severely understaffed and the system is under “considerable stress” which means many patients “fall through the cracks”, according to a new review.
This is a very powerful article. I’d like to remind our followers that if you need help or information you can call Lifeline on 131 114 or visit www.lifeline.org.au
The art of healing suicide: re-creating original narratives to embrace life
My doctoral studies in visual arts entails working with people, who are not necessarily visual artists, but see the value in artistically expressing their story to expand our understanding of suicide http://bit.ly/RWU9Ze
New Report Shows Economic Cost of Perinatal Depression
New research launched today by Minister for Mental Health Mark Butler reveals 1800 Australian parents are diagnosed every week with post and antenatal depression at a cost to the economy of $433 million http://bit.ly/TOY74V
Breaking down language and cultural barriers in mental health treatment
Clinicians will be better equipped to overcome the challenges of treating people from multicultural backgrounds living with a mental illness with a new e-learning tool launched today by the NSW Minister for Mental Health, Kevin Humphries http://bit.ly/PXa7mp
Those at most risk and needing psychiatric help struggle to get mental health hospital beds
SOUTH Australia is lagging behind the modern world in its provision of mental health hospital beds, the state’s peak medical group says http://bit.ly/StYSyg
Friday Media Round Up – 9 November
11/09/2012Insuring mentally ill benefits everyone
If you have been to your GP this year, there is a two in five chance that you have been diagnosed with a mental illness. You may have been prescribed an antidepressant, sedative or tranquilliser. http://bit.ly/TOr82C
Time to launch a troll patrol Facebook gets tough
Facebook has moved against the thousands of trolls who use its pages to taunt others, launching an Australia-wide Be Bold, Stop Bullying campaign. http://bit.ly/VJKyHZ
Suicide main cause of rail deaths
Suicide accounted for 80 per cent of national rail deaths last year, according to new figures. TrackSafe Foundation statistics show that in 2011 186 people died on the railways nationally. Of those, it is estimated 150 took their own lives. The remaining 36 died when trespassing or at a level crossing. http://bit.ly/VJDr2i
Queensland child protection inquiry told Barrettt Adolescent Centre School is set to close
THE State Government is set to place potentially hundreds of young Queensland lives at risk by closing a mental health facility playing a critical role in preventing youth suicide, according to a senior Queensland doctor. http://bit.ly/Upf5L2
Applications open for new community mental health funding
From today, community organisations can apply for funding to employ new workers to help people with mental illness, including by helping them find and keep a job. http://bit.ly/YU14Vq
Suicide Support Line Now Available Around The Clock
Minister for Mental Health Mark Butler has announced a phone line funded by the Australian Government will operate 24 hours a day to provide urgent assistance to people at risk of suicide who are participating in the Access to Allied Psychological Services program (ATAPS). http://bit.ly/UyNf9U
Suicide Prevention Australia announces new CEO, Susan Murray
11/02/2012Research, programs and innovative technologies emerging from Australian suicide prevention sector were the focus of the National Suicide Prevention Conference held in October, which proved to be a two-day crash course of the sector for Suicide Prevention Australia’s new Chief Executive Officer, Sue Murray.
The appointment marks a new era for the organisation, which farewells outgoing CEO Ryan McGlaughlin who served both the organisation and sector with unwavering passion and dedication for 8 years.
Sue has spent her first few weeks as CEO talking extensively with key sector players in an effort to better understand key issues, and what the sector wants from Suicide Prevention Australia as the national peak body.
“Ultimately I would like to see Suicide Prevention Australia become a driver for new and coordinated research, policy and communication throughout the sector. Having attended the conference and had conversations with many key players, it’s clear that there is a space for Suicide Prevention Australia to become a hub for coordination and resource sharing,” Sue said.
To read full release click here.
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