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A FARMER turned mental health advocate believes too many sufferers of depression and similar illnesses are “falling through the cracks” of the Border’s medical system.
Bevyn Dempsey resigned from his role as a consumer consultant with Albury Wodonga Health in May after being told he could not help one of his clients who was getting weekend treatment at the hospital.
It was the last straw in a series of growing frustrations, he said, in a system that was still “working for us, not with us”.
The consultant role — that is, someone who has lived with a mental illness themselves, and can relate to patients as a peer, not a doctor — remains empty, while Albury Wodonga Health reviews the position.
It’s unclear why the review is under way, given the role is outlined in detail in the Victorian Public Mental Health Services award.
Mr Dempsey, who has bi-polar disorder, said an audit of clinical services on the Border was needed now, with a better recovery model and peer support groups.
“People are falling through the cracks and being re-admitted (to hospital),” Mr Dempsey said.
“I’m sick of putting friends in an ambulance and just sliding the door shut.”
Last month The Border Mail reported Department of Health figures from January to March showed just 39 per cent of patients in the North East had made contact with a mental health service before being admitted to hospital, making it the worst in regional Victoria.
Further investigations showed it had been an ongoing trend.
The figure was at 46 per cent in December last year and 49 per cent at the start of 2012.
In both instances, these were the lowest figures regionally, when the target is 60 per cent.
Re-admission rates within 28 days have also fluctuated from 18 per cent mid last-year, to 15 per cent in December, and 9 per cent in the latest round — the target is 14 per cent.
Opposition health spokesman Wade Noonan said the results suggested many mentally ill people were accessing help only at the point of crisis, when there should be a planned approach to admission.
Mr Dempsey agreed: “It indicates there’s not enough of a stepping stone after people are released from hospital.
“I have real concerns about how much money is being spent in the system, and why these figures are still the highest.”.
Mr Dempsey resigned after mounting frustration and concerns at Albury Wodonga Health, and a feeling he could not do his job effectively within the system.
The day he resigned, he had attended the emergency department with a client on a Saturday afternoon as “a friend and support”.
But clinicians from the mental health team ordered him to go home because he wasn’t supposed to be working.
But as he stated: “I have a mental health illness myself and I don’t clock off at 5pm.”
Mr Dempsey tried to withdraw his resignation a few days later, fearing clients would be left in the lurch, but was told by Wodonga campus of the Albury Wodonga Health Mental Health Service director Peter Collicoat the role was under review.
Mr Collicoat confirmed that was to “clarify the role of the position”, like “any other position might be” and hopefully the review would be completed by the end of the month.
He said there was a second consumer consultant in the North East, but it is understood that role is based at Wangaratta’s Kerferd Clinic and has no contact with Wodonga clients.
Mr Collicoat said the Victorian government statistics presented could be influenced “by just one or two patients”, creating fluctuations and any changes were reviewed by the clincical governance team.
He said Albury Wodonga Health was not funded for peer support services but he hoped “in the not too distant future they would become part of the workforce”.