Latest news with #RoyalAustralianandNewZealandCollegeofPsychiatrists
The Age
3 days ago
- Health
- The Age
Brisbane news live: Queensland ‘needs an extra 350 mental health beds'
Latest posts Latest posts 7.13am Queensland hospital system needs an extra 350 mental health beds: psychiatrists By The imminent closure of Toowong Private Hospital will leave Queensland with a shortfall of 350 mental health beds, according to the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists. Loading Administrators called in to examine the family-owned hospital have decided to shut it down, and are now working with psychiatrists to ensure continuity of care for existing and prospective patients. Professor Brett Emmerson, chair of the college's Queensland branch, said there were not enough psychiatrists to run private hospitals, partly because the financial incentives were low and support was lacking. He said the federal government needed to increase Medicare rebates and ensure private health funds paid more, while also increasing training places for psychiatry. The state government also needed to invest in new beds, particularly when the existing beds are old and in such high demand. 'A viable private sector is essential in Queensland because we've got an already overstretched mental health system,' Emmerson said. He said the loss of 50 beds at Toowong would further reduce inpatient treatment options for private patients and increase pressure on the public system. 7.05am Cool and cloudy to close the week Another cool day is on the cards for Brisbane today, with the Bureau of Meteorology predicting a top of 23 degrees on a cloudy Thursday. And the forecast is for an even cooler Friday. Here's the seven-day outlook: 7.02am While you were sleeping Here's what's making news further afield this morning: Liberal leader Sussan Ley has broken from the Dutton era with a reshuffle that rejects Trump-like cuts, goes softer on immigration, and proactively reaches out to women in the cities. A Christian pastor who founded a drug rehab centre that once treated former game show host Andrew O'Keefe has been charged with faking reports about patients' drug use. Police dug into Erin Patterson's bank records, shopping history and phone records as part of their investigation into a lunch that killed three of her guests, a court has heard. Real estate listings companies such as the Murdoch-controlled REA Group are making off like bandits with claims that advertising rates are rising by 10 per cent or more a year. And the ACCC has started sniffing around. 6.35am The top stories this morning Good morning, and welcome to Brisbane Times' live news coverage for Thursday, May 29. Today we can expect a partly cloudy day and a top temperature of 23 degrees. In this morning's local headlines: There was an eerie sense of deja vu in the way the Maroons were blown off the park at Suncorp Stadium in the opening 40 minutes of the first State of Origin match last night, and it is a matter coach Billy Slater urgently needs to address. Here's how the players rated. The federal government is yet to recommit to its $3.44 billion contribution to Brisbane 2032 Olympic infrastructure after an inner-city arena was removed from the Games plan. And on his second visit to Brisbane, the international Paralympics chief says he has no intention of combining the Paralympics with the Olympics in 2032. More than 80 days after the Story Bridge's footpaths were closed, the saga has taken a dramatic turn, with police taking protesters to court over plans to close traffic lanes for a peak-hour march. When reporter Courtney Kruk recently found herself questioning a 4.8-star rating, she wondered whether we're all becoming too hooked on online reviews.
Sydney Morning Herald
3 days ago
- Health
- Sydney Morning Herald
Brisbane news live: Queensland ‘needs an extra 350 mental health beds'
Latest posts Latest posts 7.13am Queensland hospital system needs an extra 350 mental health beds: psychiatrists By The imminent closure of Toowong Private Hospital will leave Queensland with a shortfall of 350 mental health beds, according to the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists. Loading Administrators called in to examine the family-owned hospital have decided to shut it down, and are now working with psychiatrists to ensure continuity of care for existing and prospective patients. Professor Brett Emmerson, chair of the college's Queensland branch, said there were not enough psychiatrists to run private hospitals, partly because the financial incentives were low and support was lacking. He said the federal government needed to increase Medicare rebates and ensure private health funds paid more, while also increasing training places for psychiatry. The state government also needed to invest in new beds, particularly when the existing beds are old and in such high demand. 'A viable private sector is essential in Queensland because we've got an already overstretched mental health system,' Emmerson said. He said the loss of 50 beds at Toowong would further reduce inpatient treatment options for private patients and increase pressure on the public system. 7.05am Cool and cloudy to close the week Another cool day is on the cards for Brisbane today, with the Bureau of Meteorology predicting a top of 23 degrees on a cloudy Thursday. And the forecast is for an even cooler Friday. Here's the seven-day outlook: 7.02am While you were sleeping Here's what's making news further afield this morning: Liberal leader Sussan Ley has broken from the Dutton era with a reshuffle that rejects Trump-like cuts, goes softer on immigration, and proactively reaches out to women in the cities. A Christian pastor who founded a drug rehab centre that once treated former game show host Andrew O'Keefe has been charged with faking reports about patients' drug use. Police dug into Erin Patterson's bank records, shopping history and phone records as part of their investigation into a lunch that killed three of her guests, a court has heard. Real estate listings companies such as the Murdoch-controlled REA Group are making off like bandits with claims that advertising rates are rising by 10 per cent or more a year. And the ACCC has started sniffing around. 6.35am The top stories this morning Good morning, and welcome to Brisbane Times' live news coverage for Thursday, May 29. Today we can expect a partly cloudy day and a top temperature of 23 degrees. In this morning's local headlines: There was an eerie sense of deja vu in the way the Maroons were blown off the park at Suncorp Stadium in the opening 40 minutes of the first State of Origin match last night, and it is a matter coach Billy Slater urgently needs to address. Here's how the players rated. The federal government is yet to recommit to its $3.44 billion contribution to Brisbane 2032 Olympic infrastructure after an inner-city arena was removed from the Games plan. And on his second visit to Brisbane, the international Paralympics chief says he has no intention of combining the Paralympics with the Olympics in 2032. More than 80 days after the Story Bridge's footpaths were closed, the saga has taken a dramatic turn, with police taking protesters to court over plans to close traffic lanes for a peak-hour march. When reporter Courtney Kruk recently found herself questioning a 4.8-star rating, she wondered whether we're all becoming too hooked on online reviews.
The Guardian
26-03-2025
- Health
- The Guardian
From mental health to threatened species: the glaring omissions in the 2025 federal budget
While much of the federal budget conversation will centre around what's in it for you – and for good reason – what's not in the budget is equally as important. And, given it's a small, pre-election budget, there are quite a few omissions. Here's who is missing out on a piece of the pie this time around. While the surprise of tax cuts sweetened the budget news for many, those on income support payments were overlooked. In particular were those on jobseeker payments, which remain on levels below the poverty line. The government's own Economic Inclusion Advisory Committee released its 2025 report earlier in March recommending the jobseeker rate be increased to 90% of the aged pension. But despite a number of advocacy groups pushing for a boost to the payments, it was nowhere to be seen in Tuesday's release. Another area hurting the bottom lines of many Australians is housing – whether they're renting or buying. Unlike last year's budget, this one did not raise the commonwealth rent assistance rates, which helped shave off around 1.3% in rental increases across the country. Peak health bodies pointed to the lack of initiatives in the budget to support mental health. Dr Elizabeth Moore, the president of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists, said there had been no meaningful investment in growing the psychiatry workforce and matching mental health funding to the level of community need. The executive director of the Australian Association of Psychologists, Tegan Carrison, said the government's claim the budget contains the largest investment in Medicare since its creation 'continues to ignore one of the key aspects of health – mental health'. The peak medical body, the Australian Medical Association, highlighted the lack of investment in preventative health, adding it was particularly disappointed in the lack of a sugar sweetened beverage tax, despite the recommendations of the parliamentary inquiry into diabetes. The Public Health Association of Australia said the budget maintains the 'decades-long tradition of spending on treatments and hospitals, rather than investing in preventive health measures that stop people getting sick in the first place'. In the face of commonwealth spending on public hospitals increasing by 12% in one year, CEO and adjunct professor Terry Slevin said, 'The only rational response is to reduce demand by investing in making people healthier, through real commitments in prevention.' Despite being widely canned by the university sector, students, Labor and the Greens since its implementation, the jobs-ready graduates (JRG) scheme will have to wait until the next term of government for any reform. The scheme, introduced by the Morrison government in 2021, increased fees for some courses, including humanities, to fund fee cuts in other courses as well as 39,000 extra university places. Universities Australia estimates JRG has reduced university funding by about $800m a year and driven arts degrees to $50,000. Its CEO, Luke Sheehy, said the budget was a 'missed opportunity' to address the student funding system. 'JRG has unfairly altered fees for students and reduced funding to universities,' he said. 'We want to work with the next federal government as a priority to set new funding rates and it's imperative that the next federal budget funds this work properly and fully.' Innovative Research Universities executive director, Paul Harris, said JRG remained the 'elephant in the room' that needed to be addressed. 'The primary driver of student debt is the cost of doing a degree and these costs are still rising for Australian students,' he said. The arts sector is often overlooked in federal budgets and Labor's 2025 budget did not reverse that trend. There was one major announcement – $8.6m to extend the Revive Live program, which supports the continuation of Australia's live music venues and festivals. The National Association for the Visual Arts was supportive of the package but said future budgets should provide 'comprehensive, equitable support for all art forms'. The Save Our Arts campaign suggested the government could look at increasing local content quotas for multinational streaming services with Australian subscribers as well as new laws to protect Australian creatives from AI. The Australian Conservation Foundation calculated that less than one cent out of every dollar allocated went to protecting nature. Foundation chief executive, Kelly O'Shanassy, said there was no new funding for threatened species beyond a $3m commitment from existing resources for a captive breeding program for the endangered Maugean skate. 'With rampant habitat destruction and the accelerating impacts of climate change, numerous ecosystems are on the brink and people's livelihoods are at risk, yet investment in nature protection and climate action remains a tiny fraction of commonwealth spending,' O'Shanassy said. The budget included $250m over five years for a 'saving Australia's bushland' program, promised to help meet a target of protecting 30% of land by 2030. The Biodiversity Council said it was estimated 20 times that amount would be needed to meet the 30% goal. It said estimates suggested $2.3bn a year would be needed to protect the country's more than 2,000 threatened species from extinction. The federal government provided $14m in funding for the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner, which is responsible for privacy and freedom of information in the government, in Tuesday's budget, but the portfolio documents for the agency reveal that while there will be a slight boost in base funding in this current financial year at $40m, that is reduced in the next few years, down to $26m in 2028-29. The commissioner, Elizabeth Tydd, revealed in Senate estimates in February the organisation had already shed 23% of its workforce, going from 200 staff to 138. The current headcount is 179, according to the document, and will go down to 176 in the next financial year. This comes despite increased responsibility for the agency, including overseeing the government's digital ID – for which the agency received $5.3m in funding for – but also the extra roles of investigating the growing number of privacy breaches affecting Australians, and dealing with the workload of reviewing freedom of information decisions.
Yahoo
21-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Vulnerable Aussies at ‘breaking point'
Vulnerable Australians are at risk of falling through 'growing cracks' in the mental health system as the country's peak psychiatry body calls on the major political parties to step up and commit to addressing gaps in care for those with the most severe mental illnesses. Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP) president Elizabeth Moore claimed vulnerable Australians were missing out on care, with major political parties remaining quiet on the issue of specialist care for those with the most severe and complex mental illnesses ahead of the looming federal election. 'Hundreds of vulnerable Australians are missing out on the care they need, but no party has stepped up with a real plan to fix it,' Dr Moore said. One in five Australians between the ages of 16 and 85 experienced a mental health disorder in the 12 months to February last year, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. However about 20 per cent of people delayed or didn't see a health professional for mental health due to the cost during the 2023-24 financial year, data released in November found. The cost of a first appointment with a psychiatrist at their rooms (not in hospital) – or for patients who haven't seen the specialist in the past 24 months – is about $480, according to the Department of Health and Aged Care's medical costs finder. Patients typically pay about $243 out of pocket, with $237 paid by Medicare. The cost of appointments between 30 and 45 minutes for patients is about $400; however, patients typically pay about $142 out of pocket. Dr Moore said psychiatry waitlists were continuing to grow across the country, leaving emergency departments overwhelmed while people present with 'more complex conditions that take longer and cost more to treat'. 'Public hospitals are under constant pressure, and private hospitals offering psychiatric services are shutting their doors,' Dr Moore said. 'For many Australians, help remains too far away, too long a wait, too expensive or simply unavailable. Passionate mental health advocate Andy Arnold has shared his tips for reaching out for help. 'Despite repeated warnings, mental health continues to be treated as a subset of general health policy, with no plan to strengthen specialist mental health services.' RANZCP has called on the major political parties to address industry shortages and make specialist care more affordable, branding it a 'core service, not an optional extra'. 'We need more than vague commitments and piecemeal funding – our mental health system is at breaking point, and without urgent action to bolster all parts of our mental health system, Australians will continue to fall through its growing cracks,' Dr Moore said. The peak body has also called for funding to be boosted for child and adolescent mental health services and released a scorecard on what Labor, Liberals and Greens have – or haven't – committed to in regards to specialist care. While it showed Labor had partially committed to addressing psychiatrist shortages and funding for child and adolescent mental health services, the parties had largely avoided the topic of increased Medicare rebates and the introduction of new Medicare Benefits Schedule item numbers to 'reflect the complexity of psychiatry services'. RANZCP's key MBS ask if for the Medicare rebate to be increased to 100 per cent for Aussies who need to see a psychiatrist. 'Our call to Minister Butler and the federal government is clear – help us help you in providing accessible, affordable and the best possible mental health care to every Australian, regardless of their background or postcode,' Dr Moore said. Other MBS demands include a new psychiatry 'complex care' item for patients with severe mental health conditions and a new billing item for private practice psychiatry registrars to allow billing without the need for a referral. ED 'default' RANZCP Emergency Department Steering Group chair Jacqueline Huber says emergency departments have become the 'default' for people seeking mental health treatment due to the 'chronic' underfunding of community services. 'What we really need is attention to services that treat the most unwell in our community,' Dr Huber told NewsWire. 'Those with psychotic illnesses or in severe psychosocial distress because those are the people most likely to come to the emergency department to seek care. 'We are asking both inpatient and community care to be better funded for those with the most severe mental ill health in our community.' She said states of 'being unwell' varied, and 'we're not addressing the very acute and very unwell end of the spectrum'. 'If people can't afford a psychiatrist or psychologist, their symptoms are likely to escalate and their distress can become so acute that they could become suicidal and of course come to the emergency department,' Ms Huber said. Major party commitments Labor has announced a suite of measures in the mental health sector over the last few years, including $708m towards extending vocational training for specialist mental health registrars outside traditional metropolitan teaching hospitals. It's understood about $117m of that figure is for psychiatrists. Other measures include an additional $40.5m to be invested to increase the psychiatry workforce over four years, with the government last year announcing it would up the number of postgraduate psychology spots at universities as well as bring about more psychology internships and supervisors. The government also put forth $69m last month for support for those affected by suicide and distress while rolling out the National Suicide Prevention Strategy 2025-35 and committed to restoring bulk-billed video telehealth psychiatry sessions in 2022. A free mental health counselling service is also set to be rolled out under Medicare from January next year. The service would allow Aussies to access support over the phone and online for free. A spokesperson for Health Minister Mark Butler said the government was 'reforming the health system so that everyone can get the mental health care and support they need'. 'We are introducing new mental health services and building the workforce so people can get advice and support when they're in distress and professional care for more complex mental health needs,' the spokesperson said. 'The Albanese government is addressing the challenges faced by the psychiatry profession by investing over $200m to increase workforce and skillset through expanded training opportunities.' However, the spokesperson did not disclose or comment on any specific election sweeteners. The opposition matched Labor's $8.5bn election pledge to boost bulk-billed GP visits and raised it by another half a billion dollars, including $500m for bulk-billed mental health appointments. The Coalition would also lift the available Medicare rebated mental health sessions from 10 to 20. However, Mr Butler earlier claimed reinstating the 10 additional sessions could create a 'bottleneck in the system'. Opposition health spokeswoman Anne Ruston said the Coalition would 'restore full access to Medicare-subsidised mental health support on a permanent basis as Australia's mental health experts have been calling for' if elected. 'We will make further announcements in due course as we near the election,' Ms Ruston said. The Greens previously announced they would introduce 'free' mental healthcare by removing the cap on subsidised psychologist sessions, bring in new local health clinics to allow Aussies to see psychologists for free, and create more pathways for mental healthcare plans. Don't go it alone. Please reach out for help. Lifeline: 13 11 14 or Beyond Blue: 1300 22 4636 or Kids Helpline: 1800 55 1800 or Headspace: 1800 650 890 or 13YARN: Speak to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander crisis supporter on 13 92 76 or visit Are you anxious? Take the Beyond Blue quiz to see how you're tracking and whether you could benefit from support
Yahoo
08-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Thousands march at trans youth rallies opposing Queensland puberty blockers ban, organiser says
Thousands of people attended rallies across Australia on Saturday to show solidarity with transgender youth and their families, after the Queensland government's decision to pause essential healthcare for trans minors. Twenty rallies were held, including a crowd of 5,000 gathering in both Brisbane and Melbourne, 2500 in Sydney and more than 200 in Cairns, lead organiser Jackie Turner said. 'We have shown today, with the thousands of people that have turned out … that people stand with the trans community and want to see gender-affirming care made accessible and affordable for everyone who needs it,' said Turner, who is also director of the Trans Justice Project.'The Queensland government must urgently reinstate healthcare for trans youth.' Last week Queensland's Liberal National government put an immediate pause on new patients under 18 accessing gender-affirming care, including puberty blockers and hormone therapies, in the state's public health system. The state's health minister, Tim Nicholls, said the ban would continue while the government undertook a review into the evidence for stage one and two hormone therapies for children with gender dysphoria. Peak medical bodies, including the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists and the Australian Medical Association Queensland, condemned the ban. The decision will halt evidence-based healthcare for 491 young people and their families. Brisbane mum Hannah, who did not want her last name used, said the change in policy had been 'incredibly stressful' for her family. 'My 15-year-old has been on puberty blockers for four years and was just days away from going on HRT,' she said in a statement. 'Now that can't happen. Like all teenagers, she just wants to look like her friends at school and express who she really is.' Governments can't be allowed to ban evidence-based healthcare solely on the basis of their political beliefs, Turner said. 'A lot of parents are feeling really angry and frustrated with the government,' she said. Turner said the campaign would continue to pressure MPs across the country to stand up for the 'freedom, justice and equality' of trans people. 'What I hope trans youth take away from this day is that you are not alone, and we've got your backs.'
