Report: Mental health care in Australia neglects young people

From the Sydney Morning Herald in Australia:

Young psychotic illness sufferers are receiving inadequate and inappropriate care, a report released by mental health experts says.

That's leading to unacceptable delays in treatment and unnecessary deaths, the report, Back from the Brink, says.

Experts at Oct. 17's Early Psychosis Reform Summit have called for urgent reform to a health system that is "seriously damaging" young Australians.

Professor Pat McGorry, one of the authors, said 25 specialist youth-specific mental health centres needed to be provided in the next five years to help address the crisis.

"It is a national disgrace that young Australian lives are being permanently damaged," Professor McGorry said.

"The current practice of treating them in the adult system is frightening, traumatic and ineffective."

An independent Access Economics report also launched on Friday showed more than $200 million a year could be saved by treating young Australians with psychosis sooner, and in tailored treatment services.

Rob Knowles, chairman of the Mental Illness Fellowship of Australia, said that while Australia had previously led the way in early intervention for psychosis, knowledge had failed to translate into action.

"Our young people can simply not gain access to a user-friendly system and suffer lifelong consequences as a result," Mr Knowles said.

"The system provides too little, too late."

One in three young Australians will experience mental illness by their 25th birthday and a substantial minority will experience a psychotic episode.