Brimbank residents may be missing out on mental health care as the area has only half as many Medicare-supported mental health experts as nearby Maribyrnong and Moonee Valley.
A new Monash University study shows Brimbank has 67 psychiatrist services and 26 psychologist services per 1000 people.
Moonee Valley has 129 psychiatric services and 62 psychology services per 1000 people.
Maribyrnong has 109 psychiatric services and 52 psychology services.
Lead researcher Graham Meadows said Brimbank was an interesting case.
“People living in disadvantaged and rural areas typically receive a mental health service model characterised by lower volumes of service and provided by less highly-trained providers,” Professor Meadows said.
Researchers analysed 25 million Medicare-supported mental health service interactions from 2007 to 2011, under the Better Access to Mental Health Care program.
The analysis highlighted that uptake rates for psychological services decrease as levels of socio-economic disadvantage rise.
Professor Meadows said it was concerning that regional towns such as Hepburn and Ballarat had higher use of psychiatric and clinical psychologist services than Brimbank.
“We’re confident lower socio-economic areas have higher rates of mental health problems, such as depression and anxiety,” he said.
“Those disorders sometimes remit but often persist or become chronic in the absence of treatment.
“This means those people may have more difficulty at work and won’t be as able to function in higher-earning positions.
“They’re also more likely to become unemployed, have family issues and possible substance abuse problems.
“Quite a lot of people may be missing out on what they really need.”
Professor Meadows said the solution was a complete reform of our “highly confused and poorly organised” health care system.
“I don’t have a simple answer,” he said.
“A start could be by changing Medicare rebates.
“It may help somewhat, but I think long term a deeper structural reform is needed.”
