In October 2019, the Australian Government Productivity Commission released the Mental Health Draft Report Volume 1 https://www.pc.gov.au/inquiries/current/mental-health.
The inquiry is about the mental health and wellbeing of Australia’s population, the prevention and early detection of mental illness, and treatment for those who have a diagnosed condition. The need and urgency for reform in mental health care is given gravitas by the astonishing statistics presented by this report, which clearly illustrates the pervasiveness of mental illness in the community and the damage it inflicts.
- Almost half of Australians will meet the diagnostic criteria for mental illness during their lives and mental illness is the second largest contributor to years lived in ill-health
- At least 3 million working Australians either have mental ill-health or are carers of someone with mental ill-health
- Working Australians with mental illness have a rate of absenteeism about 5% higher than Australians without reported mental health problems and 5 to 8 ties the rate of presenteeism (working more hours than required)
- Approximately 36% of workers with mild to moderate mental illness and 56% of those with severe mental health problems report having trouble doing their job properly
- Approximately 690,000 Australians have a severe mental illness requiring psychosocial support
- 75% of people with a mental illness first experience symptoms before the age of 25 years
- 26% of 16-24 year olds have an anxiety, mood or substance use disorder
- 40% of people with mental health issues have never accessed mental health services nor seen their GP about their condition
- Students with mental ill-health can fall behind in school by years
- More than 3000 people are lost to suicide each year, an average of more than 8 people a day
- Suicide is the leading cause of premature deaths for young adult Australians
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are more than twice as likely to take their own lives
- Each year, somewhere in the region of 90,000 people are hospitalised as a result of attempted suicide and self-harm
- Up to 25% of people who attempt suicide will re-attempt
- The rate of mental health presentations at emergency departments has risen by almost 70% over the past 15 years
- Compared with people with other health conditions, people with mental illness are nearly twice as likely to arrive by ambulance, ten times as likely to arrive by police or correctional services vehicles, and twice as likely to be in the ED for more than 8 hours
- Physical ailments, such as musculoskeletal problems and asthma, are more common in people with mental illness and cause almost 80% of the gap in life expectancy between people with mental illness and the population in general
- 16% of people with mental illness live in unsuitable accommodation
- 30% of people hospitalised with mental illness could be discharged if appropriate housing and community services were available
- Among police detainees, 43% of males and 55% of females were reported to have a previously diagnosed mental disorder
- 75% of all mental illness manifests before the age of 25
- Each year, 188,000 school aged children with a social and emotional disability require some adjustment to their education (5% of all children attending school)
Eve's Gift 