MEDICUS MARCH 2016

C O V E R S T O R Y

The Commonwealth Mental Health Reform package will soon be rolled out across WA, but will it significantly shake up the system? H ow do we take an 18-year-old into hospital through triage and admit her as having suicidal ideation, have her attempt to take her own life on the ward as an inpatient, and then discharge her?”

failed them and their families. While the Alma Street Inquest cited poor communication and procedures at the clinic, the findings represent on a broader scale the intrinsic failures in mental health – at the primary, community and tertiary care levels. Since the deaths, a new Mental Health Act has been introduced, which the Health Department says addresses many of the issues of communication that had been contributing factors. In addition, the State Government maintains that 61 per cent of the coroner’s recommendations had been implemented, and the rest would be too. Mental health has been a National Health Priority for the past two decades. Yet there has remained widespread public concern about the nature and apathetic pace of mental health reform. Challenges in delivering better mental health and suicide prevention services have persisted, prompting the introduction of several recent initiatives at both Commonwealth and state levels, focused on improving sector and service coordination and mental health

These words reflect the horror and heartbreak of Geoff Diver and the complete mistrust he has in our State’s mental health system. Mr Diver’s 18-year-old daughter, Ruby Nicholls-Diver, completed suicide in 2011, just hours after being discharged from the Alma Street psychiatric unit in Fremantle. Ruby’s death and those of four other West Australians who were treated at the clinic before taking their own lives were the subject of a Coronial Inquest last year. In an article published in August 2015 on ABC Online, Mr Diver said the evidence highlighted a system in disarray. “You’ve got these people who are already grappling with the notion of failure, and the system essentially invites them to fail every step, and make you feel like a failure every step,” he said. Like Mr Diver, there are countless West Australians who are living with the tragic consequences of a system that has

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