YOUNG people and families across the Northeast are crying out for better local mental health services.
Speaking to State Parliament, Member of Northern Victoria, Wendy Lovell shared the real-life story of a local family whose son has been unable to access the help he needs to treat his illness.
The boy was made to wait months for an appointment locally and he could only obtain inpatient care at Box Hill Hospital, almost a three-hours’ drive from the Shepparton CBD.
Box Hill, an inpatient service of just 12 beds, is the sole facility of its kind available for children and adolescents from Northeast Victoria and Melbourne’s Eastern suburbs.
Ms Lovell raised this issue in State Parliament last week, seeking to gain a commitment from the Minister for Mental Health to increase funding to services throughout the region and to establish a dedicated youth inpatient mental health facility at GV Health in Shepparton.
She said that young people and their families in the Northeast deserve more support and better facilities to properly treat mental illness.
“This local family’s story is a real-life example of the plight of young people living in Northeast Victoria who are suffering from a mental illness, and I know there are many others dealing with child and adolescent mental illness.
“The Andrews Labor Government must invest funding that delivers the facilities and services needed in the Northeast, including establishing an inpatient mental health facility for children and adolescents at GV Health.”
