Lifeline says 'yes' to engaging COAG on Mental Health Reforms

Release date: 15 Feb 2006

Lifeline Australia is ready to work with COAG to provide frontline support for people with mental health problems, says Lifeline CEO Dawn Smith.

Lifeline Australia is ready to work with COAG to provide frontline support for people with mental health problems, says Lifeline CEO Dawn Smith.

Ms Smith said last week's comment by Prime Minister John Howard that he wanted COAG to engage with Lifeline as part of the development of a national telephone triage system was recognition of the critical role Lifeline already played in helping people access 24 hour emotional support.
 
"Lifeline is already out there working at the coal face of mental health, providing social and emotional support for the large number of people living with or dealing with mental illness in Australia each day. Last year alone we spent more than 450,000 hours on the phones listening and helping people in need," Ms Smith said.

"With appropriate support from Government and the community, we are ready to look at how we can do even more."

"The Prime Minister understands that we handle more than 500,000 calls each year and that we are already the after hours referral point for many mental health services, GPs, psychologists, psychiatrists and other allied health services. Many commonwealth and state government services advise clients in crisis to call Lifeline."

Lifeline's 24-hour telephone counselling service is staffed by some 5000 trained volunteer telephone counsellors who are helping people in the very early and critical stages of a mental illness - the very time when intervention leads to improvements.

Ms Smith said Lifeline volunteers were often able to give people the support they needed to manage the crisis they were facing at that time. In many cases this intervention was enough so that people didn't need to present at hospital emergency departments. In other cases counsellors referred people to further care.

The 24-hour telephone counselling service is provided through 60 locations across Australia and is accessible on 13 11 14 for the cost of local call. Lifeline also offers face-to-face counselling services in many of its centres.
 

Media Contact: Ian Paterson (ph: 02 6215 9400 / 0410 44 22 36)