National mental health plan to be handed down

A national mental health plan will be released in the coming weeks as the government seeks to address the fallout COVID-19 has had on Australians mental wellbeing. Chief executive of the National Mental Health Commission Christine Morgan said the plan would address gaps in the current mental health system. “We are looking at significantly ramping up our ability to co-ordinate service delivery, to ensure that the accessibility that we have opened up with telehealth, the accessibility that we have opened up with increased digital and online services, is able to be accessed by Australians in a way that passes across our jurisdictional and Commonwealth systems,” she said. "We need to make that work better. We need to ensure that anybody who actually needs a service is reached.” Ms Morgan said she will present the plan to the national cabinet for consideration next week. It comes as Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced one million telehealth mental health consultations have taken place since mid-March. Image: Getty Via news.com.au — Australia’s #1 news site https://www.news.com.au