Mental Health Co-ordinating Council Annual Report 2002-2003 CONTENTS Organisational Profile 2 Chairperson's Report 4 Executive Officer's Report 5 People Behind MHCC 6 MHCC Representation 8 MHCC Projects 2002-2003 8 NSW Legislative Council Inquiry into Mental Health Services 10 MHCC Submissions, Consultations & Presentations of Note 11 Other Sector Representation of Note 16 MHCC Seminars/Forums 17 MHCC Newsletter 18 MHCC Member Survey 2002 18 MHCC Members 2002 - 2003 19 Financials 2002 - 2003 21 MHCC ANNUAL REPORT 2002-2003 1 ORGANISATIONAL PROFILE VISION To be part of a society that values each individual and provides equal access to appropriate and effective health and community services for all its members. MISSION To provide leadership and an independent representative voice on mental health issues for non-government organisations in NSW including, service providers and consumer and carer organisations. UNDERLYING PRINCIPLES Good mental health is about the whole person; their psychological, physical, emotional and spiritual needs. Consumer and carer input is central to the promotion of mental health and the delivery and management of services. Communities need to provide a range of mental health services designed to meet local needs. An across-governmental approach to mental health promotion and service delivery is required. KEY PRIORITIES Informing, engaging, supporting and educating non-government organisations working for mental health. Influencing public policy. Promotion of mental health issues in the community. 2 MHCC ANNUAL REPORT 2002-2003 MENTAL HEALTH COORDINATING COUNCIL (MHCC) The Mental Health Coordinating Council (MHCC) is the peak body for non-government organisations (NGOs) working for mental health throughout New South Wales (NSW). MHCC's membership includes NGOS, both specialist and mainstream, and other bodies interested in mental health. As the peak body for NSW, MHCC aims to provide leadership and an independent public voice on mental health issues. We facilitate effective linkages between the government, non-government and private sectors acting as the liaison body representing the views of our membership. ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP OF MHCC OFFERS: 1. Access to various levels of the sector via feedback to and representation by the MHCC secretariat (see MHCC Representation); 2. Opportunities to participate in public policy development and other MHCC initiatives; 3. Access to all MHCC resource services; 4. Regular sector information via our newsletter, "View From the Peak", FYI Faxes and quarterly mailouts; and 5. Discounts on MHCC educational opportunities such as the MHCC Seminar Series and MHCC forums and conferences. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS MHCC is the peak body representing non-government mental health organisations in NSW. We gratefully acknowledge the core funding as well as some specific project grants provided by the NSW Health Department. We remain appreciative of the support of all our member organisations, through their membership fees, their unpaid contributions to our committees and projects and their ongoing commitment to mental health and all people living with a mental illness. MHCC ANNUAL REPORT 2002-2003 3 CHAIRPERSON'S REPORT It is with great pleasure that I commend you to the 21st Annual Report. Our commitment to providing strong leadership for our public and the people of NSW has remained firm throughout the past year and this is evidenced by the content of this report. "Time is a great equaliser" we constantly hear when talking in terms of what can be achieved in a day, week, month or year. In these days of fewer resources, each of us has to ensure that we get the most out of the time allotted to the tasks we set ourselves. Services have had to find creative ways to use resources and it is encouraging to find innovation still alive and well within our member groups. At the Mental Health Coordinating Council (MHCC) time has challenged our concept of value and priority during the year and forced us to take immediate action once decisions were made. The result has been extremely challenging and I have to report that this action has not, regretfully, resulted in a huge influx of funds to the sector. The NSW Legislative Council’s "Inquiry into Mental Health Services in NSW" presented a system that is failing to meet the needs of the population. The NSW Government is yet to respond to the Recommendations of the Inquiry and we look forward with anticipation to a response being tabled before the year-end and an increase in the funding base. The MHCC response has focused on the need for an across government approach to service planning and delivery. This need is reflected through the wide range of funding sources and services provided by our member groups. Flowing from this over-arching focus is the need for increased services across all government departments to support the identified population. On the National stage NSW still shamefully lags behind all other states in its allocation of funds to mental health services. The Mental Health Council of Australia’s (MHCA) Report "Out of Hospital Out of Mind" released this year highlights deficits of service and makes a number of recommendations for reform. In August 2003 members of the MHCA participated in the Australian Health Care Summit to talk about ways to improve Australia’s health system. All Health Ministers recently endorsed the National Mental Health Plan 2003-2008 and we are looking forward to its distribution. Many services are pivotal to the provision of quality care to ensure the health and wellbeing of the population. People who seek help and the people who are close to them must not be forced into a crisis system of care where the end result is police transportation, hospitalisation or prison confinement. It will become evident as you read this report that MHCC has achieved much throughout the year. Jenna Bateman and the team at MHCC deserve recognition for the high standard of work they have presented. Without their varied skills and commitment to the needs of the member groups many National and State policies would not include such a strong focus on the need for improved mental health services and the recovery model. Members of the Board of the Council are to be thanked for their strong contribution throughout the year. It is only with the goodwill of the Boards of each organization of MHCC that our Board membership is possible. Finally, we thank the NSW Department of Health for the continued support of the MHCC. Joy Said, AM Chairperson Mental Health Co-ordinating Council 4 MHCC ANNUAL REPORT 2002-2003 EXECUTIVE OFFICER'S REPORT I’ve come to enjoy the process of pulling together the MHCC Annual Report. It’s a time to take a rare moment to reflect on what we have achieved rather than looking forward to what still needs to be done. Whilst its true to say that the NSW State election and the release of the NSW Legislative Council’s Inquiry into Mental Health created a focus for much of the secretariat’s work over 2002/2003, members will see from the contents of the Annual Report that we have represented member interests on a very wide range of issues and initiatives. MHCC members are not always aware of the activities undertaken by the MHCC Board and secretariat and the Annual Report is a great way to demonstrate the scope of what we do. One of the great challenges for MHCC is deciding how to employ our resources to best meet the interests of members. We had hoped after the former NSW Health Minister Craig Knowles agreed to fund the MHCC NGO Development positions at last years 20th Anniversary celebrations that we would have an increased capacity to assist members and NGO development generally in more direct ways at the local level. However, the $400,000 in promised funds has not yet been released. MHCC has been assured that there continues to be support for the proposal both from the current Health Minister Morris Iemma and from the Centre for Mental Health. Reasons given for the delay range from some reworking of the NGO quality development component of the proposal to the need to understand the project within the across government review of NGOs currently underway. We continue to be assured by the Minister’s Office that the proposal will be funded. The pathway for NGOs isn’t always smooth and generally speaking the environment for NGOs working in mental health over the last year has been extremely variable. Some member organisations have thrived over the year having taken on new projects and opportunities and gained greater confidence in their ability and credibility to attract funds from a wider range of sources than ever before. For others, however the experience of having to face the reality of the insecurity of NGO funding despite evidence of good outcomes has been harsh. Some of the challenges facing MHCC member groups over the coming year include obtaining greater clarity around funding streams for psychiatric disability support and psychosocial rehabilitation, assessing the continuing impact of competitive tendering on the cohesiveness of the sector, and the challenging and increasingly challenged role of NGOs in systems advocacy and community participation. MHCC membership has grown over the year with again many of the new members coming from non- specialist mental health organisations. Our sector is diversifying rapidly as mainstream organisations and agencies recognise the importance of addressing the mental health needs of their clients. In all that we have achieved this year I would like to thank the MHCC Board and particularly Chairperson Joy Said AM whose commitment and experience is very much appreciated. I would also like to thank the MHCC secretariat, Edi Condack, Ann Machlochlainn and Stephanie Maraz for their dedicated and flexible approach to the demands of the job.