News
The Chief Psychiatrist’s Annual Report 2023-24 has been tabled in State Parliament
Download page as PDFThe Chief Psychiatrist’s Annual Report is an important point of feedback about standards of mental health treatment and care. It makes transparent the ongoing improvement and challenges of mental health services across this massive state.
Given the numbers of Western Australians who use mental health services, the Chief Psychiatrist’s oversight of standards is essential the Western Australian government’s commitment to provide safe high-quality, evidence-based care.
The data, reviews and analysis in this report highlight the significant impact of mental illness on the Western Australian community, and this emphasises the absolute need for us to care for and respect each other.
In addition to the already existing service development around rehabilitation, forensic services, children and youth, and community mental health care, the Chief Psychiatrist has intensified focus on a number of areas:
Relationships
- Our priority is building a trusting relationship with the Noongar community through the Kaatadjiny Walbraaniny Danjoo Project with deep support and guidance provided by respected Noongar Elders and young people, with an aim also to develop more real relationships with other Aboriginal communities across WA- our commitment is to strengthen mental health outcomes for Aboriginal consumers across Western Australia.
Reducing Trauma
- We have progressed our work towards the elimination of restrictive practices, another key focus area- WA remains a national leader in lower seclusion and restraint rates in mental health inpatient services, and we will lower these rates further
- Our work on sexual safety remains paramount; during this reporting period, we developed the Chief Psychiatrist’s Standard for Sexual Safety of Consumers of Mental Health Services, which has since been published, requiring mental health services to ensure consumers are safe from unwanted sexual behaviour.
Neurodevelopmental Disorders
- We’ve highlighted the complexities of neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism, and intellectual disability, when there are associated mental illnesses, and the need for public mental health services to prioritise and develop more effective care models for a group that are very high users of mental health services
As always, our responsibility is to ensure safe high-quality mental health treatment and care for all Western Australians. I commit this report to the Western Australian community and will be working with the community to ensure appropriate standards of mental health treatment and care.
Read The Chief Psychiatrist’s Annual Report 2023-2024 here.
Dr Nathan Gibson
CHIEF PSYCHIATRIST