People with lived experience of mental illness and their carers are helping shape the future of the Mental Health Line by sharing their experience with the NSW Government.
Member for Cootamundra Steph Cooke said the 1800 011 511 NSW Mental Health Line was a free phone service that operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, offering specialist advice, support and referral to specialist NSW Health mental health services.
“We want to ensure it continues to meet the mental health needs of our community,” Ms Cooke said.
“Co-designing the Mental Health Line with people with lived experience of mental illness is the best way to ensure the next evolution continues to make a real difference to those who need it.”
“Recent Have Your Say consultations have helped us to better understand areas such as digital inclusion and digital identity, with these engagements generating new ideas for how we can better deliver services to the people of New South Wales.”
“I encourage people in our community to get involved in the Have Your Say consultation, whether they have experience using the Mental Health Line or may have not known about the service, we want to hear from all.”
The events of the last few years have highlighted the importance and the need to invest in mental health services.
The importance of health and specifically mental health in our society is evident, with the National Study of Mental Health and Wellbeing showing two in five Australians experience a mental health issue in their lifetime.
The Mental Health Line is an important service that helps people to access appropriate mental health services but there are always areas to improve.
In 2020-21 around 864,000 Australians accessed at least one digital service for their mental health, but it is understood this represents only one in ten of those who experienced mental health distress.
People need to be able to easily access services that can help them when they are at their most vulnerable. This is something we can and need to address.
The NSW Government has allocated $2.2 billion across four years to invest in digital transformation projects through the DRF. The fund is administered by the Department of Customer Service and targets smart, simple technology solutions which create efficiencies for customers across the State. To Have Your Say on the future of the Mental Health Line, please visit: www.haveyoursay.nsw.gov.au/nsw-mhl-consultation
