(Adopted October 2014)
Principles
The Queensland Greens believe that:
1. All people have the right to independence, self-determination, freedom from stigma and discrimination.
2. All people should have access to quality mental health care services irrespective of their socio-economic status or geographic location.
3. To provide a public mental health system which has a strong, well-funded primary care treatment service as first point of contact.
4. The services required to support a person suffering from mental illness extends beyond the spectrum of specialised mental health services. Access to housing, social supports, community and home care, income security, employment and training are all contributing factors to achieving positive outcomes.
5. The Government has a duty to be responsible for ensuring that people have access to the services, resources and opportunities essential for good mental health.
6. An effective mental health system must be based on primary health care, health promotion and early intervention, to assist in the reduction of avoidable admissions and demand on hospitals.
7. Education about mental health issues helps promote general awareness which reduces stigma and increases the likelihood of early intervention.
8. Substance and alcohol abuse prevention programs are complimentary to mental health services and assist in the reduction of criminal behaviour and hospital admissions.
9. For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, community control and ownership of mental health services through primary care partnerships can significantly increases access and improve outcomes.
10. The rights and civil liberties of people with mental illness should be guaranteed and protected.
11. Support is required for the development of well researched prevention and early intervention services to assist in the reduction of mental health disorders.
Aims
The Queensland Greens will:
1. Establish a properly resourced, strategically located 24 hour community mental health service, staffed by the full range of mental health professionals and support services.
2. Provide professional development to mental health professionals and ensure that all such staff are appropriately trained, to address co-morbidities of those with chronic mental illness.
3. Provide an acute, hospital based care system which is interconnected with other services in the local community, such as health, housing, employment and training, and community support services.
4. Address the high rate of homelessness amongst people with mental illness by establishing community based supported accommodation for people with mental illness, including crisis, medium-term and long-term accommodation with rehabilitation and support programs.
5. Ensure adequate support and respite services for carers/families of people with mental illness.
6. Encourage research into the links between mental illness and drug and alcohol use.
7. Ensure all refugees and asylum seekers have access to mental health professionals, to address the disproportionate rates of suicide, self-harm and post-traumatic stress disorders.
8. Provide appropriate treatment in correctional facilities for prisoners with mental health disorders and substance use issues.
9. Implement, support and fund community based public services providing early intervention.
10. Work towards the provision of co-located services with multi-disciplinary teams, to assist community access and co-ordination between services.
11. Ensure that community-based support services enable people with chronic mental illness and their carers to live and participate more fully in their communities.
12. Provide equal access and specialist targeted services for special needs groups such as youth, high-risk men, Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transexual and Intersex people, people with co-occurring disabilities, Culturally and Linguistically Diverse people, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
Promotion Prevention and Early Intervention
13. Increase funding for anti-stigma campaigns to address the issue of stigma and mental illness including the provision of community education programs.
14. Increase support for schools to address the early signs of mental illness.
15. Will work towards the provision of mental health first aid training for community groups and schools.
16. Assist sustainable community living for people with mental illness to reduce their dependence on services and improve engagement with the community.
17. Improve access to services, and develop community wellness programs to assist in building community resilience.
Suicide Prevention
18. Provide properly resourced prevention strategies that address the ongoing need for increased support for people suffering depression and associated disorders that lead to increased risk of suicide.
19. Address the effects of emerging suicide clusters through appropriate supports and data collection.
20. Provide funding for a suicide prevention campaign addressing the stigma and raise awareness of suicide risk factors.
21. Support for communities to assist with reducing suicide rates, in particular in rural and remote and Indigenous communities.
Rural and Remote
22. Support the development of hub and spoke models of care for people living in rural and remote regions of Queensland.
23. Provide a well-resourced tele-psychiatry program for people living in rural and remote regions, including the provision of consultation liaison services from major urban centres.
24. Provide training and resources for rural and remote regions to address the disparity of access to mental health services in these regions.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People
25. Improve access to mental health care in Aboriginal Torres Strait Islander communities using a partnership approach, including culturally appropriate community based outpatient and outreach services.
26. Ensure Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have mental health outcomes and life expectancy equal to other Australians.
Child and Youth
27. Address the specific physical and mental health needs of young people by providing easily accessible age-appropriate services.
28. Provide specialist services for the early years, including parent and baby services.
29. Provide specialist support services for children and young people who have experienced trauma.
30. Promote positive mental health outcomes by providing programs that build life skills in children and young people and provide them with psychosocial support in schools and other community settings.
31. Provide programs to help strengthen ties between children, young people and their families.
Families and Carers
32. Increase support to families and carers of people with a mental illness, including support for children of people with a mental illness.