Connect with people who understand what you are going through, seek advice and surround yourself with support. We're free, anonymous, and professionally moderated 24/7.

47,612Members
1,358,869Posts
1,400,000Visitors

Tasmanian MH system in disarray - what do we need?

sadboyhoursContributor28 Sept 2025, 1:22 pm AEST

Tasmanian MH system in disarray - what do we need?

Well if you haven't heard, the Hobart Clinic is closing the inpatient service and the Mind Hub is likely to follow.

This leaves us with 12 beds in Launceston (I don't know anyone who's been to Calvary so have no idea about the quality), the trauma program at NWPH which only does planned admissions as far as I know, and public services of varied quality and extreme problems with availability.

We shouldn't be forced to rely on private health services anyway, and across Australia the two-tiered mental health system is getting worse. We are now, ironically, in a situation where the more densely populated areas of Tasmania have less access to inpatient and sub-acute treatment than people in the North.

I am working towards (trying to) talk to MHCT, MHLET, and people from the state government - or maybe skipping to a petition - as the government needs to pull their socks up!! We deserve better. I wrote to the minister back when St Helens closed and of course got a generic response but I feel I have to keep trying...

So, what do you think we need? I think:

- step up step down units

- more Safe Haven-type drop in centres

- accelerating development of the MH precinct plans

- more inpatient beds including expanding the Hospital@Home program

- ED options that ease the strain and stress for MH and physical health staff and patients

In the long term, there are so many other things, like making the inpatient and ED spaces trauma informed (not actively traumatising), and of course we have to keep investing in community care and prevention. Still, I simply cannot see another press release from the government saying that they are giving headspace more funding and ignoring the reality that is some people will always need a higher level of care!

Anyway, I hope everyone is coping okay with the news and is able to get the support they need. Hope that people have feedback for me as well! 🙂

22 replies

21 - 22 of 22

1 2 3

In response to: Tasmanian MH system in disarray - what do we need?

Zoe7Senior Contributor10 Oct 2025, 2:38 pm AEDT

Re: Tasmanian MH system in disarray - what do we need?

@chibam Everytime MH issues get 'thrown around' the government spends money in all the wrong places ie. setting up working groups, committees, inquiries etc. If that money was spent on actual supports then more people actually would get what they need.

I do agree that the media has a role to play here also. They are usually very reactive rather than introspective and that fuels the fear of talking about MH. Some sections of the media certainly prefer the sensational over the reality and although that has improved, there is still a long way to go. There is also an issue with some high profile 'celebrities/sportspeople' 'playing' the MH card to try to explain away simple bad behaviour. The media latches onto that and it becomes the headline ...which does not help the cause. It paints a bad picture for us all and re-inforces the stigma.

In response to: Re: Tasmanian MH system in disarray - what do we need?

chibamSenior Contributor10 Oct 2025, 8:12 pm AEDT

Re: Tasmanian MH system in disarray - what do we need?

@Zoe7 wrote:
@chibam Everytime MH issues get 'thrown around' the government spends money in all the wrong places ie. setting up working groups, committees, inquiries etc. If that money was spent on actual supports then more people actually would get what they need.

I must admit, I share much of your concerns about this incessant merry-go-round of government & academic talk fests (and the money that is constantly being poured in to them).

Probably the most recurrant talking point that came up during the NSW Government's recent Loneliness inquiry was that all these academics (and the orgs they belong to) kept campaigning for more funding for loneliness research; and, surprise surprise😒, this ended up being one of the main concrete commitments of the inquiry's final report.

It comes off as a huge disappointment, doesn't it? It feels like a lot of money down the drain, and a forestalling on real action that needs to be taken now.

The government shouldn't be throwing millions of dollars at a bunch of professors to run "studies" into loneliness.They should be asking lonely people what assistance they need, and then paying helpers to provide that assistance! Simple as that!

And yeah, the same principal holds in the broader realm of mental health. We shouldn't still be sitting around talking, we should be doing what needs to be done.

That being said, I don't believe a significant number of people would benefit if we simply poured a lot more funding into the system as it exists now. Because I firmly believe that most of the system's problems lay in it's core design, not in the fact that it is too underfunded to fully function as it was designed. We need to embrace better ways of helping the suffering; not bolster the broken old approaches with more funding.

Unfortunately, it is woefully apparent that the government STILL does not adequately comprehend what good mental healthcare actually looks like. So until they can be taught to understand this crucial concept, I fear that the ongoing committees and inquiries will remain a necessary evil.

What I'd really love to do is get all the so-called "experts" and big organizations out of these inquiries, and have them populated entirely with everyday suffering people who can tell the government directly what's wrong with their lives, and what help they need. And then, acting solely on that input, the government can just make it happen. Or, at the very least, pour as much money as they are willing towards making it happen.

21 - 22 of 22

1 2 3