Tuesday, 12 November 2024

 Gaelle BROAD (Northern Victoria) (13:01): (1232) My question is to the Minister for Mental Health. Why is the government leaving vulnerable people in regional Victoria without sufficient mental health support? I have had two people independently contact my office saying that they have fallen through the cracks of the system that is meant to support them. They have both been clients of the Head to Health program run through the Bendigo Community Health Service. This service closed earlier this year when the state government funding was removed. While BCHS still delivers mental health services, they are now of a lower tier. By all accounts, the Head to Health system was working well at Bendigo Community Health Service and meeting community needs, ensuring people had access to the right services at the right time. The clients were referred on to another service, the new adult local, which has a higher level of care. Neither client has engaged with this service, but both have now been without any mental health support for months, and they are not the only ones. They are angry, upset and feel let down by the system.