One day, I hope we can say that every person in Australia who needs mental healthcare can actually access it.
Last week, a mum sat in front of me and cried, not knowing what she was meant to do next for her child.
Her 13-year-old daughter had been to Perth Children’s Hospital emergency department four times for suicidal thoughts. Each time, she had been discharged back to us, her GP, for follow-up.
Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services couldn’t take her on because she didn’t meet their criteria. I tried referring to private mental health specialists, knowing how few are available for this age group. She was declined due to being too high risk.
This is a sensible family, in Perth, willing to pay for support, trying desperately to get help, feeling so broken, and at every turn, they were sent back us.
So we did what we could with what we had.
Weekly check-ins. Our nurses met with her and her parents. We contacted her school to create a compromise on learning. We started medication and psychology.
I know it sounds like this is exactly what GPs are for but we aren’t trained for this level of complexity, and we need to be honest about that. More often now, we have no choice because no one else can help.
We are continuing to see that in Western Australia, child and adolescent mental health care is siloed, underfunded, and so confusing for families.
Are we waiting for more catastrophes to take this seriously?
I have sat with families after losing a child to suicide. I cannot do it again. I will not accept that as inevitable.
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GPs want to help, but not on our own. Right now, there is no front door for families in crisis that isn’t an emergency department.
No child should ever be turned away when their parent is trying to get them help. I have been speaking up about this for years. I will keep speaking up simply because I keep seeing it, every single week.
We are talking about the future of our country, our future generations.
If there was ever a place to direct funding, resources, and genuine political will then surely it’s here.
I’m sharing this because these families exist everywhere and I simply want to be a voice for them. One day, I hope we can say that every person in Australia who needs mental healthcare can actually access it.
Dr Andrew Leech is a GP, and founder and director of The Garden Family Medical Clinic in Perth, WA.
This article was first published on Dr Leech’s LinkedIn feed. Read the original article here.
