By Misha Schubert, Canberra
February 11, 2006

A $1.1 billion injection to improve Australia's medical services, and in particular to tackle the crisis in mental health, is at the core of a package of reforms thrashed out by state, territory and federal leaders yesterday.

The package includes plans for more university places to train doctors as well as extra funds to get the elderly out of hospitals and into aged care, and young disabled people out of nursing homes.

The country's leaders have been given until June to develop a blueprint on how to solve the nation's mental health crisis, including a crackdown on cannabis, amphetamines and alcohol abuse — all growing risk factors for depression.

Their vision includes making people healthier so they can stay in the workforce longer, improving literacy and numeracy standards, cutting red tape and better skills training and recognition.

The wide-ranging initiatives agreed to included:

• A 24-hour national hotline for medical advice and mental health counselling, to be operating by July 2007.

• A $244 million plan to help 1000 younger people with disabilities move from nursing homes to more appropriate care over the next five years.

• Health checks for people over 45 who have one of the risk factors leading to conditions such as diabetes or heart disease, and a rolling national social marketing campaign on healthy living, in a $500 million lifestyle diseases prevention push.

• Speeding up the development of an electronic medical records system, which lets doctors and nurses log into patient records held by other health workers.

• More funds to shift elderly people from hospital beds and ensure faster assessment for care in their own homes.

With up to 20 per cent of Australians having a mental illness, Mr Howard said mistakes made with deinstitutionalisation, the stress of modern life, and greater openness about mental illness had fuelled the scale of the challenge.

"(And) I think at least a generation of Australians were too passive about the consequences of illicit drug use," he said.

Victorian Premier Steve Bracks, who has led the push for a new round of competition policy reforms, was delighted with the comprehensive blueprint and said it was a day that would change Australia. "This is the day when we grasped the nettle (of reform)," he said. "What we have set will put us on a course where we're more competitive than we would have been against the rest of the world."

The Age reported in article entitled ‘The Need to invest in mental Health 11/ 2/ 06

" and 20 per cent of children lived with at least one parent who suffered from a metal illness."

So when will funds be provided by governments To support NNAAMI initiatives?

Sam - NNAAM member