News

WNSW PHN Welcomes Federal Government's $64M for Mental Health

Western NSW Primary Health Network has welcomed the announcement of a further $64million in funding by the Federal Government for suicide prevention initiatives  across Australia.

Federal Minister for Health, Greg Hunt, says the investment signals a significant reform of the national approach, which now strengthens the voice of people with lived experience of suicide in the design of policies and services. It also provides additional resources for the most vulnerable groups such as young people, families and carers and people who have attempted suicide.

The $64 million includes a further 12 months funding for each of the 16 sites across Australia participating in the National Suicide Prevention Trials. These commenced in 2017 and are designed to develop and test the effectiveness of systems-based approaches to suicide prevention. Western NSW PHN is one of the sites and has funded work across the local government areas of Bourke, Brewarrina, Cobar, Lachlan and Weddin. The work is focussed on higher risk groups such as young people, males in mining and agricultural industries and Aboriginal people. It involves consulting with local communities, schools and service providers to identify priorities and then undertaking work to address them.

“We are thrilled about the announcement” said Andrew Harvey, Chief Executive Officer. “It will mean another $1M of funding for this region enabling the great work that has been started to continue and also provide much needed time to consult further with stakeholders about how initiatives could be sustained into the future.”