The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP) SA Branch has welcomed a key investment in today’s State Budget to support people experiencing mental health, alcohol and substance use crises, while calling for a future focus on outreach and non-acute services, particularly for young people and those outside of Adelaide.

This Budget delivers on the SA Government’s election commitment to dedicated mental health assessment units, which will provide safer environments and better ways of managing mental health, alcohol and drug presentations to emergency departments.

RANZCP SA Branch Chair Dr Devon Marshman said the $28 million investment into the units highlights the value of ongoing collaboration between clinicians and government.

“We’ve had an ongoing, constructive working relationship with the SA Government when it comes to strengthening, and in parts rebuilding, the state’s mental health system,” Dr Marshman said. “We provided advice on where units like these have shown genuine, real-world impacts and how they operate, and they took that advice seriously.”

"For years, we've seen people in mental health and substance use crisis waiting in emergency departments that aren't designed to meet their needs. These new units will provide safer, more therapeutic environments where patients can be assessed and treated with dignity, while also helping to ease the significant pressures on our emergency departments.

“We also welcome today’s investment in training an additional 100 GPs in ADHD management which will further support the system to respond to people in need.”

Dr Marshman said while these investments are important, the next phase of reform should focus on supporting people with mental health conditions in their communities, particularly children, young people and addressing the chronic undersupply of psychiatrists in rural and remote areas.

“Hospital based care for people in crisis and living with severe and complex mental illness is absolutely essential, but we also need to be preventing people from reaching crisis point wherever possible,” he said.

“That means putting greater emphasis on early support, intervention and community-based crisis care, particularly for younger South Australians and in our regions.

“We’re seeing too many young people bounce between emergency departments, inpatient care and the community without the ongoing support they need to recover. We need services that can intervene early, respond in a crisis, and also stay with young people beyond discharge and support them closer to their community and ensure their full recovery.”

Dr Marshman said expanding community services must go hand in hand with addressing workforce shortages in rural and remote South Australia.

“For people living in rural and remote areas, access to specialist mental health care can be extremely limited, and in some cases, not available at all,” Dr Marshman said.

“We have a small workforce covering very large regions, often across multiple services, and that makes it much harder to provide consistent, timely care. Growing a locally based workforce is critical to making sure people can access support close to home.”

He pointed to the 2023 Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) Strategic Review as a roadmap for what is needed, and recommendations from the Psychiatry Workforce Plan to increase locally-based rural and remote community psychiatrists. 

“The CAMHS Strategic Review gave government a strong blueprint for what’s needed, and what’s currently missing in the system for children and young people, while the Psychiatry Workforce Plan has provided a great roadmap to address longstanding shortages of psychiatrists across the entire system.”

“While the Government has agreed in principle to both sets of recommendations, we are still waiting to see sustained funding and clear implementation.”

Dr Marshman said investing earlier would reduce pressure on hospitals and deliver better outcomes over the long term.

“So we’re calling on the Government to build on this Budget by committing to a clear, funded plan for community mental health services, particularly for children and young people and South Australians in rural and remote areas,” he said.

“Treating people where they live and work is not only better for young people and their families, it also helps create a more sustainable mental health system overall.”

For media inquiries, please contact: Dishi Gahlowt on +61 437 315 911 or email media@ranzcp.org  

The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists is a membership organisation that prepares medical specialists in the field of psychiatry, supports and enhances clinical practice, advocates for people affected by mental illness and advises governments and other groups on mental health care. For information about our work, our members or our history, visit www.ranzcp.org. 

In Australia: If you or someone you know needs help, contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or www.lifeline.org.au or the Suicide Callback Service on 1300 659 467 or www.suicidecallbackservice.org.au. 

In New Zealand: If you or someone you know needs help, contact Lifeline NZ on 0800 543 354 or www.lifeline.org.nz or the Suicide Crisis Helpline on 0508 828 865 or  www.lifeline.org.nz/services/suicide-crisis-helpline.