Mental health in Pittwater

Mental health is a huge issue in Pittwater.

More than 30 people – mostly males – have taken their lives in the area in the last 12 months.

There is a coalition of mental health and suicide prevention services locally, including Avalon Youth Hub, Community Care Northern Beaches (CCNB), Lifeline Northern Beaches, One Eighty, Brookvale Community Health Centre, Community Northern Beaches, headspace Brookvale and Northern Beaches Hospital (NBH).

But frontline staff have been frustrated at the lack of communication between services, meaning locals have been falling through the cracks, with devastating results.

In one of 150 submissions to the NBH parliamentary inquiry in August, CCNB – which supports those at risk of suicide or have attempted suicide – claimed a man who presented to the hospital’s emergency department from attempted suicide was discharged without CCNB being informed. Tragically, he took his life 24 hours later.

Manly MP James Griffin spearheaded August’s first Northern Beaches Mental Health Summit at Parliament House on August 27, where more than 60 representatives from Northern Beaches organisations, government, community-based service providers and advocates met to explore how they can improve mental health service delivery.

“Thankfully, we have been very well serviced by mental health providers and organisations, however, the collaboration and referrals between organisations and services can be improved,” says Mr Griffin.
 
“Having had the opportunity to meet and hear from a multitude of mental health services and groups, we knew it was time to do something.”

CCNB supports more than 2000 people at any one time, including through its suicide prevention program called Seasons, which is commissioned by the Sydney Northern Primary Health Network.

Its CEO, Dr Gary Jacobson, says, “The Summit was important to confirm that care navigation and care coordination for people with mental health issues is critical at their point of need.”

CCNB is also currently funding and delivering The Northern Beaches Suicide Prevention Communication Protcal Project, which is a collaboration between Northern Beaches Police Local Area Command, Lifeline, the Local Health District and Northern Beaches Council.

This project delivers a coordinated care response to a person and/or their family immediately after a serious suicide incident. In this instance, every time there is a serious suicide attempt or a death by suicide, the first responder (usually police but not always) contact CCNB who respond and support the affected family and friends within 24 hours. As well as offering support, the project will capture data and identify service gaps that again will help improve services.

In February, then Education Minister Rob Stokes, who is also the Pittwater MP, announced $88.4 million over four years to fund a counsellor or psychologist for every public high school.

“There’s no denying this is a really serious issue in our community,” he says.
“We’ve recently started seeing greater collaboration among our local youth support services through the formation of organisations such as the Avalon Youth Hub.
 
“The hub seeks to consolidate access to all these local services in a convenient, approachable and friendly space.By talking with this one service, young people can be assisted in all sorts of different ways.
 
“It’s an innovative approach and the feedback has been really encouraging.”

Meanwhile, Northern Beaches councillors Vincent De Luca, Stuart Sprott and Kylie Ferguson recently submitted a motion for Council to become a model for leadership in suicide prevention.

They want to develop innovative ways to support Northern Beaches residents and those in our regional sister city, Brewarrina, to support indigenous leaders in their suicide prevention initiatives, and have invited councillors to sign The National Suicide Prevention Charter.

“I am alarmed the Northern Beaches is experiencing similarly high statistics of suicide now as to when they were at their highest in the 1990s,” states Cr De Luca OAM, who was a delegate to the first Australian Youth Suicide Prevention Convention in Federal Parliament in 1997.

“One death is too many, and by uniting to talk, support and encourage help-seeking, we can save lives.”