Good morning,
There are many, many posts about mental health, illicit drug use, and compliance.
I live and have lived with bipolar 2 since I turned 18. I was born in a Midwest state prior to emigrating to Australia in 1999.
My diagnosis came after post traumatic incidents which I won't go into detail. Let's just say that sometimes moving to the other side of the world, doesn't fix the trauma of heart and mind.
1) Mental health care here has its advantages and disadvantages. I live in a rural area, my GP is a 6 hour return trip. The nearest GP has a 4-8 year wait list. Problem is the GPs (general practitioner), will not move to rural towns. My town is utterly delightful. I blame RANZCOG for inefficiencies in medical practitioner standards and accessibility to housing in rural areas
Cost- $150 round trip.
2) the cost of care as ASTRONOMICAL if not on a disability pension. I do not have one. Luckily, GP is bulk billed. I cannot afford to see a psychiatrist regularly.
-seeing a new one in June, the appointment is $500.
-Medications are not subsidised and cost $100 per month.
-The most important part of my care is therapy- CBT sessions are $200 per visit. You can get a care plan here which covers 6 visits per year. But, some psychologists do not accept the referral and still charge the full amount.
3) housing, the $$$ for rent is too high for anyone, let alone the disadvantaged. So many people end up homeless
For some patients with a mental illness, they can get support if they have had a community treatment order or have been hospitalised at a reduced cost.
I have found that there have been generalisations in this thread about schizophrenia, treatment, mandatory treatment. I won't give an opinion about posts. It's a difficult mental illness to treat as is bipolar 1 and 2. Support is very difficult to access, my support group (thank God) is online and we have monthly catch ups via zoom.
Australia does have NDIS (funding), but it's also not easily accessed and funding is the proverbial circus.
We are let down by our systems here. I cannot stress enough how difficult the journey has been as someone with insight and compliance. Someone without it may turn to illicit drug use, which is more accessible than affordable, quality health care.
To be frank the coroner will focus on mental health care as a focal point in the coronial enquiry. This should have never happened. I surmise this may be a catalyst for a royal commission into mental health, also femicide (another epidemic here in Australia). The nexus of mental health and femicide must be addressed.
Coroner's Court NSW:
Coronial findings and recommendations
I read regularly the findings with my background study and profession. Many are DV cases, mental health incidents, etc.
