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Summer 2005

Time for Management to Listen on Mental Health

Mental health services across Tasmania are set to be restructured, with changes likely to have quite dramatic impacts on the work of HACSU members in this sector.

HACSU will participate in a State-wide Consultative Committee to work through the industrial issues as they arise and there are certain to be many issues to work through.

Many members have expressed concerns about the direction in which Mental Health services is heading and this is something we will be looking to have input into.

A major concern is management's desire to rush through the changes without allowing workers who deliver the services the appropriate input into the design of the service delivery system.

HACSU Senior Industrial officer, Tom Kleyn, has expressed concern about these issues.

"It seems to be the same with many of the changes across the Department," Tom said.

"Management believe they have all of the answers and are reluctant to put their arguments to the test with the professional practitioners."

"Unfortunately, this appears the case with the changes being proposed in Mental Health."

"We are encouraging management to open up the dialogue and give the practitioners who deliver the service and know how it works in practice to provide advice and input."

"HACSU members have been working in a chronically under-funded service for many years. Whilst there has been some recent funding injections, which are welcome, care needs to be taken to adopt an approach in which all of the accumulated expertise in service delivery is utilised to ensure the best possible service is developed."

"HACSU is very concerned about an approach that just seeks to impose changes."

"At the end of the day members will not accept the changes unless they deliver improvements in service to clients, and members will want to be very confident that the improvements are backed up by evidence, not merely management's assurances."

"At a teleconference involving representatives from four unions around the State, there was unanimity that the changes being proposed by management would only be supported if it could be clearly proven that services to clients would improve."

Mental Health services have already undergone several changes and reviews and on every occasion management claimed changes were necessary and would lead to improved service delivery. Yet serious shortcomings in service delivery remain.

"It is little wonder that members delivering the service are cynical about yet another major restructure designed by management."

"It is time that Mental Health management stepped back and recognises the expertise available to them and consult properly before leaping ahead into another change," Tom Kleyn said.