Western Victoria PHN (WVPHN) welcomes the Final Report of the Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System, which was released on Tuesday 2 March 2021.
We are in the process of thoroughly reviewing the 65 recommendations from the final report and the nine recommendations from the interim report, recognising the many issues that have been raised.
We acknowledge the ground swell of voices that have contributed to this report where, despite a history of effort, the support and care of people living with mental ill-health has continued to be devastating.
We highlight Recommendation 51: Commissioning for integration that emphasises the need for a collective effort between Primary Health Networks, federal and state governments and mental health and wellbeing services to ensure a supported and integrated system of care for the community. Regional collaboration with our major Hospitals and other committed stakeholders has helped establish the foundations and structure to support the coordinated implementation of these recommendations with the community of western Victoria.
Primary health providers will always play an important role in local health care needs of the community.
WVPHN is optimistic that the report and recommendations provide a blueprint to help meet the future mental health care needs in our region.