1 - 24 August 2025
- Aug 27, 2025
- 3 min read
Wednesday 13/08 Media Summary
It's been a while since we've seen anything of note in the media, but this dropped today:
Mental health patient calls for improved regional services to reduce trauma
We're still waiting for the Commission to finalise its decision. You'll hear it here once we know when the judgement will be delivered. As you might recall, final submissions were made seven weeks ago.
In the interim, let me draw your attention to this Insta post and the attached Fact Sheet.
If you are in contact with your local Members of Parliament, it would be a good idea to send them the attached Fact Sheet or tag them with a link to the post below:
How many reports does it take to change a politician’s mind
Weekend 16-17/08 Media Summary
'Shocking': leak reveals mental health unit closure on waterfront land
‘Fundamentally incompatible with good mental health’: the living nightmare in our prisons
with @~Trevor Ma and Olav Nielssen
Time won’t heal: a psychiatrist’s view from inside our jails
A very personal and accurate reflection by @~Trevor Ma.
The moral battleground of a prison psychiatrist
Psychiatrist Dr Ian Korbel's interview with ABC Illawarra from a few days ago is here:
ABC Illawarra Breakfast at 8.48am
Congratulations to the brilliant Four Corners team who won a Kennedy Award for ‘outstanding reporting on human rights and social affairs’ for the story on the mental health crisis in NSW!
The updates may be less frequent, but much work continues behind the scenes and we’ll keep working to shine a light on the inequity in care!
Weekend 23-24/08 Media Summary & Budget Estimates 22/08
NSW Health trying to ‘gag’ frontline workers from posting online, union warns
With @~Ian Korbel
Improving quality and continuity of patient care: ways forward for mental health reform
With Alan Rosen
NSW Premier Chris Minns refuses to support inquiry into western Sydney hospitals
Legislative Council Budget Estimates on Friday 22 August 2025
The video will be uploaded to the NSW Parliament Official YouTube Channel tomorrow, and we'll go through it when time allows.
A few highlights noted so far:
Minister for Mental Health, Rose Jackson:
- Cost of VMOs and locums $16 million to date (date not specified). 81 locums employed = 60 FTE. Money is allocated from Health Budget.
- Minister is not aware that VMOs being paid 10hrs for 8 hrs’ work (but NSW Health knows “we factor in some travel time”)
- The cost of providing care to public pts in private MH facilities $3 million (but according to the Health Secretary the day before "the support we've had from the private sector (to admit public patients) is very low.")
- Government will pay a 25% increase if IRC makes that ruling, but there are no such provisions in the budget. There is no timeframe to implementing any pay increase but would want this “as quickly as we can, I haven’t been briefed on a timeframe for this…will take this question on notice”
- Virtual Psychiatry Hubs: costs to date $3.3 million. Feedback is that it is well-received and will remain, with a senior representative from Mental Health Branch agreeing that they will remain (audible, but not seen on camera).
Richard Griffiths, Executive Director Workforce Planning NSW Health
- Cumulative number of psychiatry locums (locums only, does not include VMOs) to date 195. Fluctuating, up to 60 FTE
- Currently 81 locums employed = 60FTE- Out of the staff specialists who resigned, 11 took up a locum role
- Psychiatry VMO 317.5FTE currently vs 217.4FTE in 2024
- Total locums (60 FTE recruited centrally recently + “historic locum arrangements that have carried over”) = 104FTE- NSW Health is creating its own internal service that will act like a central locum service. Aim to go live in 2027
Alfa D’Amato, NSW Health CFO
- Commissions paid to locum agencies for all medical locums (not just psychiatry)- 2023-2024 $43.8m- 2024-2025 estimate to date $44.2m
Dr Brendan Flynn, Executive Director, Mental Health Branch:
- Virtual hubs referrals - data to 27 July, WNSWLHD hub: 1686 referrals, HNELHD hub: 588 referrals. But reported to have had increased activity as more metro sites now using hubs and WNSWLHD hub is now operating 24hrs at time (not clear if 7 days per wk)
Here is a clip from Thursday 21 August: Susan Carter MLC (opposition) questioning Ms Susan Pearce AM, Health Secretary, who took the opportunity to remind psychiatrists that we are all "greatly valued."
Original footage from NSWParliament Youtube channel:
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