{"id":4826,"date":"2020-01-12T12:55:06","date_gmt":"2020-01-12T12:55:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/?p=4826"},"modified":"2020-01-12T12:55:06","modified_gmt":"2020-01-12T12:55:06","slug":"immediate-mental-health-services-deployed-into-fire-affected-communities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/2020\/01\/12\/immediate-mental-health-services-deployed-into-fire-affected-communities\/","title":{"rendered":"Immediate mental health services deployed into fire affected communities"},"content":{"rendered":"

More mental health support services will be immediately provided to firefighters, emergency personnel, individuals and communities impacted by the ongoing bushfire disaster.
\nPrime Minister Scott Morrison said an initial $76 million would fund free counselling sessions, extra Medicare and tele-health consultations, an expansion of headspace services for young Australians, and community recovery initiatives.
\n\u201cThese bushfires have been unprecedented in their scale, coverage and duration. They have caused tragic loss of life and physical damage, that have scarred our landscape. But as I have witnessed in connecting with people on the ground in fire affected communities, they have also taken a traumatic emotional toll on our people. We need to ensure the trauma and mental health needs of our people are supported in a way like we never have before ,\u201d the Prime Minister said.
\n\u201cWorking together, we will continue to do whatever is needed to support those Australians affected and traumatised by these terrible bushfires by rebuilding communities and helping people in need to recover.\u201d
\nHealth Minister Greg Hunt said the funding was part of the Government\u2019s comprehensive response to the bushfire crisis.
\n\u201cI urge people to reach out, get the support they need and check in on loved ones,\u201d Minister Hunt said.
\n\u201cOur Government\u2019s response will help assist with distress counselling and mental health support for individuals, families and communities, including frontline personnel, impacted by the ongoing bush fire emergency.\u201d
\nMinister for Government Services Stuart Robert said Services Australia would put its shoulder to the wheel to help deliver this new level of support to Australians who need it.
\n\u201cIf you\u2019re in a bushfire affected area I urge you to call 180 22 66\u00ad\u00ad\u00ad. Staff are working extended hours and will continue to do so as long as necessary,\u201d Minister Robert said.
\nImmediate distress and trauma support<\/strong>
\n$10.5 million will be provided to make up to 10 free counselling sessions immediately available for individuals, including emergency services personnel, who have been affected by the bushfires.
\nThe sessions \u2013 offered at recovery centres, Service Australia centres, and existing local mental health centres in fire affected regions \u2013 will provide short-term distress support, social support, counselling and family based psychological interventions to help people through the immediate trauma and crisis.
\nA further $3.2 million investment will help deploy bushfire mental health response coordinators to fire affected areas.
\nEnhanced services through Medicare and Telehealth<\/strong>
\nTo deliver longer-term support to those affected, $29.6 million will be provided for additional Medicare-supported psychological treatment sessions and expanded access to mental health care via telehealth.
\nAnyone who has been impacted by bushfires will be eligible to receive Medicare rebates for up to 10 psychological therapy sessions provided by GPs, psychologists, and other eligible mental health professionals.
\nThese 10 sessions will be in addition to the 10 psychological therapy sessions currently available under Medicare.
\nTo make it as simple and fast as possible to access the new items, individuals do not need to have a GP referral or mental health treatment plan, but can seek appointments directly with any eligible mental health professional.
\nIn addition, the Better Access via Telehealth Initiative will be expanded, which will allow people in rural and remote areas affected by bushfires to receive Medicare rebated counselling and psychological support through video telehealth services. This will also allow eligible GPs to deliver mental health and wellbeing support via telehealth.
\nThe new Bushfire Recovery and telehealth Medicare items will apply to all Australians, including children, young people, adults, seniors, and frontline emergency personnel who were residents of, working in, or visiting a bushfire affected region.
\nThe items will be available at the end of this week, be in place for the next two years and will ensure that people impacted by the fires are able to receive more intensive services, particularly over the next three to six months when trauma is more likely to manifest. Individuals are also encouraged to use existing tele-psychiatry services where needed.
\nChild and youth mental health<\/strong>
\nWe recognise that young Australians may be particularly vulnerable and to assist with managing any increased demand for headspace services, headspace sites significantly impacted by fire will also each be provided with up to an additional $300,000 to ensure that young people can get support when they need it.
\nGiven the particularly devastating impact of the bushfires on the New South Wales South Coast, the Government will also expand the planned Bateman\u2019s Bay headspace site and expedite funding of $4.4 million over five years to ensure the centre is up and running by the end of the year.
\nSupport for Emergency Service Personnel<\/strong>
\nEmergency services workers and their families often face the most confronting situations. To ensure they have extensive and ongoing support, we will provide $16 million for specialist organisations to provide them with trauma care services.
\nThis funding will ensure that workers and their families are receiving more intensive support that might be necessary to prevent and treat the effects of trauma, including Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), both now and after the immediate fire threat has passed.
\nWe will also provide $1 million for training for front line emergency service personnel in trauma-informed care and psychological first aid. This includes training for doctors, pharmacists, and health professionals who are often the first people that communities turn to for support.
\nAn additional $1 million will also be provided for training of staff in organisations that manage front line emergency personnel, in order to help them identify and assist emergency personnel who may be at risk.
\nCommunity recovery and coordination<\/strong>
\nThe Government recognises that communities will need support to recover and rebuild, and that they often know what is best to support their wellbeing. To assist them, we will be providing $6.9 million for community wellbeing grants and further funding for locally tailored mental health services through Primary Health Networks (PHNs).
\nThese grants will help communities organise wellbeing and recovery activities. Communities will be able to apply for these grants through their local PHNs, which will also receive funding to facilitate these activities and deliver additional mental health resources specific to the needs of each local community.
\nThis comprehensive response, developed in consultation with key experts, acknowledges and supports individuals, families, frontline personnel, and communities during different stages of recovery. It reinforces our Government\u2019s strong commitment to better mental health for all Australians and will complement the existing investment of $5.2 billion in mental health and suicide prevention services this financial year.
\nContacts for support<\/u><\/strong>
\nImmediate distress and trauma support \u2013\u00a0<\/strong>Individuals can contact Services Australia on 180 22 66 [CN1] or their local Primary Health Network (PHN) (found at\u00a0www.health.gov.au\/phn<\/a>) to locate and access these sessions.
\nIn addition, anyone experiencing distress as a result of these events can seek immediate advice and support through Lifeline (13 11 14), Beyond Blue (1300 224 636), the Kids Helpline (1800 55 1800), or the Government\u2019s digital mental health portal, Head to Health (www.headtohealth.gov.au<\/a>).
\nMental Health Support through Medicare<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 Individuals should contact their GP or eligible mental health professional to access these services. GP\u2019s or other health professionals seeking advice should visit\u00a0www.humanservices.gov.au<\/a>\u00a0or call 132 150.
\nheadspace<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 Local headspace services can be found at:\u00a0https:\/\/headspace.org.au\/headspace-centres\/<\/a>. For young people unable to attend a headspace centre, eheadspace is available online at\u00a0www.headspace.org.au<\/a>\u00a0or via telephone at 1800 650 890.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

More mental health support services will be immediately provided to firefighters, emergency personnel, individuals and communities impacted by the ongoing bushfire disaster. Prime Minister Scott Morrison said an initial $76 million would fund free counselling sessions, extra Medicare and tele-health consultations, an expansion of headspace services for young Australians, and community recovery initiatives. \u201cThese bushfires … Continue reading “Immediate mental health services deployed into fire affected communities”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4826","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-aussie"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4826","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4826"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4826\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4826"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4826"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4826"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}