Progress on improving mental health services for young people in Western Australia has been labelled “unacceptable” five years on from a ministerial report calling for change.
An auditor general evaluation of the Mental Health Commission’s efforts to implement the Infant, Child and Adolescent Mental Health System (CAMHS) Transformation Program found progress was “not on track to deliver the full scope of reform” with just one of 32 recommendations met so far.
The AMA flagged concerns this was putting vulnerable young people at risk and called for more action on bolstering workforce capabilities.
The WA government commissioned a ministerial taskforce into public mental health services for infants, children and adolescents to outline a whole-of-system plan in 2021. Following the report, it committed to implementing all 32 recommendations.
However, in her findings tabled in Parliament on June 17, auditor general Caroline Spencer said the Mental Health Commission (MHC) – tasked with carrying out the system-wide-reform – had no credible plan or pathway to deliver the transformation program.
“Overall progress has been slow and the transformation program is not on track to deliver the full scope of reform,” she said.
“Four years since the taskforce’s recommendations were accepted, only one recommendation is complete, 26 are in progress and five are not yet commenced.
“Progress against recommendations is not clearly reported publicly, and this lack of transparency limits accountability, particularly for stakeholders wanting to understand if the reforms are on track.
“Concerningly, MHC is overstating its achievements and avoiding specificity in the status of the taskforce recommendations in its internal reporting and when responding to Parliamentary questions.”
Ms Spencer said in a reform of this size, momentum must be actively driven and closely overseen, however the MHC was not using the significant levers and authority available to lead reform with the discipline, focus and accountability required.
“If persistent organisational leadership capability and accountability gaps are not addressed, these important reforms to mental health service delivery will never be delivered as intended for Western Australian children and families, let alone by the targeted timeframe of 2031,” she said.
“While some positive initiatives have been delivered in conjunction with WA Health service providers, particularly in acute and crisis care in some locations, these have not yet translated to broader system transformation,” she said.
AMA (WA) President Dr Kyle Hoath said the situation was incredibly disappointing and unacceptable. He called for the plan to be made public for greater transparancy.
“We want to see the plan, and we want that audited, we want that transparent, we want that in the public domain so that we can see progress on these recommendations, including regular public updates on where they’re at in implementing this incredibly important change,” he said.
“A lot of the recommendations talk around expanding programs and covering gaps in current service delivery. To do that we need staff and yet some of the items that haven’t even been commenced yet relate to a staffing plan, to how we continue to support a workforce to deliver this essential care to young West Australians,” he said.
He said the findings confirmed what clinicians, families and frontline workers had been experiencing for years – a fragmented system which is difficult to access and overly reliant on crisis care.
“As a psychiatrist, we know early intervention can change the course of a young person’s life,” Dr Hoath said.
“It is deeply concerning that these reforms have lost momentum and still cannot demonstrate meaningful outcomes for children and families.”
The one recommendation that had been met was in regard to establishing clear roles for Aboriginal mental health workers.
Other recommendations included establishing a service guarantee that defines what all children, families and carers should expect to experience in all interactions with the system, and addressing gaps between primary care services and the specialist mental health system.
Health Minister Meredith Hammat has been contacted for comment.
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