We would like to give out a big thank you to all our member services who supported us by submitting the mental health support for flood affected areas survey.
With your support we were able to gather some valuable information which guided us understand the challenges faced by the ACCHS post 2022 floods, challenges the community experienced and experiencing, and the support needed for the ACCHS to improve mental health of those who were affected by the 2022 Floods.
90% of the contributors expressed a surge in seeking mental health support following floods and thankfully, the majority of ACCHS were able to offer a range of mental health services to community members in need including referrals to external mental health services.
The indicated challenges for the ACCHS when providing services were staff availability (32%), telecommunication disruptions (18%), Increased demand beyond capacity (16%), damages to their healthcare facilities (13%) and lack of resources (9%) and other minor issues (10%).
The reported responses show lack of available appointments (36%), transportation issues (27%), nonoperational services (12%) and telecommunication barriers (12%), lack of information on available services (6%) and Other minor issues (4%) when making external referrals for the mental health services.
Barriers in seeking help, prolonged wait times, transportation challenges, gap costs, limited availability of specialist services and staff, lack or culturally sensitive services and resources were stated as the challenges faced by the flood affected communities.
We’ve also taken note of the recommendations provided in the survey regarding the services and resources necessary for an improved response to community needs.
AHMRC will be committed to exploring improved methods to assist our member services in delivering improved mental health care for our community affected by the 2022 floods.
Regional SEWB Community Workshops
- Workshop 1 Port Macquarie: 20th and 21st August 2024
- Workshop 2 Nowra: 3rd and 4th September 2024
- Workshop 3 Dubbo: 15th and 16th October 2024
- Workshop 4 Tamworth: 5th and 6th November 2024
