I would like to congratulate our North Coast Primary Health Network, which has been selected as one of four lead sites across Australia to implement the new $192 million suicide prevention program. This is exactly what I have been advocating to reduce suicide in our community.
Any suicide is tragic and unfortunately we have far too many in our community. Under this new programme, the North Coast PHN will receive millions of dollars in additional resources to develop localised methods to help prevent suicides.
Prevention activities across the North Coast will focus on community education, better integrating local services, and most importantly, ensuring better post-discharge follow up. One of the best ways we can prevent suicide is to ensure that someone who has attempted suicide or self-harm receives follow up support and treatment when they are discharged from hospital. At the moment, that doesn’t always happen.
This new money will allow the North Coast PHN to work closely with our local hospitals and community based mental health services to ensure that when someone is discharged from hospital, they don’t fall through the cracks and they aren’t forgotten about.
*The North Coast Primary Health Network will work closely with suicide prevention organisations such as Black Dog and Beyond Blue to implement a range of localised strategies to reduce suicide rates across the electorate.
These new measures are in addition to a series of important steps, already undertaken in our first term, including the commissioning of regionally-delivered mental health services through the North Coast PHN in partnership with the NSW Government and local service providers.
As part of National Homelessness Week, I went to the Homelessness Connect event at The Winsome in Lismore on 4 August. It was wonderful to see so many people and community agencies working together. The Winsome and its volunteers do great work in our community. I thank them for that.
