CANBERRA, Australia, Oct. 9 (UPI) -- The Australian government has revealed details of its $1.4 billion mental health package.
The package provides $372 million to increase Medicare rebates for patients needing treatment from general physicians and psychiatrists for mental health disorders. The government also announced a $37.1 million program to build mental health clinics in rural and remote communities.
Welcoming the government announcement, Dr. Julian Freiden, president of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists, said people with mental health problems will now have access to services they previously were unable to receive. But he stressed that state governments also must "contribute fully" to the federal initiative in related mental health care services -- such as providing adequate housing and accommodation.
The opposition Labor Party health spokeswoman, Julia Gillard, says government has failed to address the real problems affecting the provision of mental health services. Only 2.2 percent of the 2,500 psychiatrists in Australia practiced outside suburban areas and "only 0.4 percent of them practice in the bush," she said.
All figures are in U.S. dollars.
