Former Health Minister and Attorney General Jim McGinty to lead new taskforce
Taskforce to oversee development of future purpose-fit mental health services
Focus on needs of mental health consumers requiring acute care, treatment and rehabilitation, and forensic mental health services
A taskforce of seven public sector leaders will be established to inform the McGowan Government’s planning and investment decisions regarding the Graylands Hospital site, forensics services and the nearby Selby Older Adult Mental Health Service.
The work will align with the WA Mental Health, Alcohol and Other Drug Services Plan 2015-2025, which highlighted the need for these services to be decommissioned, divested and replaced with contemporary infrastructure and services.
WA s chief mental health advocate Debora Colvin reflects on 12 years service
SatSaturday 19
updated
SunSunday 20
Debora Colvin became WA s first chief mental health advocate in 2015.
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Every day in Western Australia, about a dozen people might wake up in a locked mental health ward.
Key points:
She says the number of young people requiring services has risen every year
Among the many hurdles still facing the sector are long waitlists for services
A place that feels much like a jail.
They may have been taken to a hospital emergency department with a serious mental health issue. They may have tried to self-harm, or had a violent episode.