FROM ‘ PA S S I N G T H E B U C K ’ T O I N T E G R AT E D C A R E C O - O C C U R R I N G M E N TA L H E A LT H A N D S U B S T A N C E U S E C R I S E S
In February 2019, after years of pressure from people living with mental illness or psychological distress, families, carers, and health care professionals, the Victorian government established a Royal Commission into the mental health sector. The commission found that Victoria’s mental health system had “catastrophically failed to live up to expectations.” Over 3,000 submissions were made, the majority by overwhelmed family members who felt they had been left alone to care for afflicted loved ones.
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