In this article in The Medical Republic, AAPi expressed concerns about the low-intensity digital mental health service announced in the Federal Budget. Executive Director Tegan Carrison said that the confirmation of humans-only at these centres had not quelled uneasiness within the mental health sector.
“Even if people have been flagged as early intervention or lower acuity, you need trained health professionals to actually make that definitive decision,” she said.
“If these services are going to be staffed with students or low-qualified professionals, that creates massive amounts of risk.”
Ms Carrison’s main concern was that the government is attempting to quietly steer patients away from the Better Access program, which was the subject of a withering independent evaluation in 2022.
“It feels like some of these programs are in response to … the Better Access evaluation, but we still haven’t actually received the government response to that evaluation yet,” she said
Read the full article here.