None of the 144 new mental health beds announced this week have been allocated to Northern Victoria.
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The Victorian government has announced an expansion of the HOPE post-suicide prevention program to provide additional clinical capacity for the existing HOPE site in Albury-Wodonga, but not the extra beds allocated to Melbourne.
Wangaratta-based MP Tania Maxwell said while regional mental health services would be provided with outreach funding, the 40 per cent surge in demand at Headspace in Albury-Wodonga demonstrated a need for funding to also be extended to Headspace facilities in regional areas.
"The Royal Commission into mental health recognised that the rates of suicide and self-harm in rural and regional communities are much higher than metropolitan areas," she said.
"The impact of coronavirus is only adding to the mental health needs in regional areas where services were already over stretched, so this funding is welcome news and I hope there is more to come."
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