Face of Nation : A Melbourne woman tried for months to get help for a relative’s mental illness, but only when he was dragged screaming from a police van into hospital did the family receive attention.
Janet Butler’s story is an example of what the Victorian government hopes to avoid in future by promising to implement all recommendations of a royal commission into the state’s mental health system.
The inquiry has not yet finished but on Tuesday the state government made an ambitious commitment to meet the recommendations, arguing it would “pay for itself” in the long run regardless of cost.
“The Labor government will implement all recommendations made by the royal commission to ensure Victorians get the care that they deserve,” acting Premier Lisa Neville said.
Ms Butler in 2014 got a call from police about 4am telling her a family member wasn’t in trouble but his behaviour was “bizarre”.
The officer asked Ms Butler what he should do, and she requested her relative be taken to hospital.
“He was dragged screaming and terrified out of the back of the divvy van,” Ms Butler told the royal commission on Tuesday.
Every 12 minutes police get called to a mental health-related job, the commission was told.
“It should never have been allowed to get to that state,” Ms Butler said.
The government agrees.
“We don’t want people’s first experience of support to come from police response,” Ms Neville told reporters.
“We need to fill that gap to prevent people getting into crisis which is when police are called.”
The scope and cost of recommendations could be revealed in an interim report due in November, but the government is already facing questions about how it can commit to still-unknown recommendations.
“We have to get this right,” Ms Neville told reporters.
“We know (mental illness) is doing enormous damage to people in our community and many people are suffering. We’ve set this up with the full intention and guarantee that we will implement all the recommendations that come out of this royal commission.”
The inquiry is an opportunity to fix a broken system and save lives, Mental Health Minister Martin Foley said.
“This is actually about ensuring that we invest appropriately as a whole community in mental health. If you get your mental health system right, actually, it pays for itself,” Mr Foley said.
The government has released its submission lodged with the commission, which includes a focus on providing mental health support for people before they reach “critical need”.
Outside the commission, Ms Butler praised the police response but said her relative should have been treated before his illness became acute.
The inquiry continues and is due to deliver a final report in October next year.
