20th of June 2024, 7:12pm
Legislative Council of Victoria, Spring Street, Melbourne
David ETTERSHANK (Western Metropolitan):
My adjournment matter is for the Minister for Health. The number of publicly funded drug rehabilitation services across the board in Victoria is woefully inadequate. Based on the most recent figures, there are less than 500 publicly funded rehabilitation beds in the state. These are beds in structured residential programs like Odyssey House or Windana, for example, where people can receive the treatment and support they need to address their drug use. That is a ratio of 0.74 beds per 10,000 people. By way of comparison, only South Australia has a lower ratio.
Whilst there are clearly not enough residential rehabilitation beds to meet the surging need in Victoria for longer term alcohol and other drug (AOD) treatment, the situation is worse for publicly funded residential withdrawal – detox beds. There are currently only about 110 in Victoria. This means there is a bottleneck at the detox end. People needing to access those longer-term rehabilitation services have to go through detox first. They need to be free from those immediate withdrawal symptoms before they can get into residential rehab. There are four times as many residential rehab beds as there are residential detox beds in Victoria. This disparity between the number of residential rehab beds and residential detox beds results in critical and often life-threatening delays to people’s recovery.
Desperate people may try their luck in the unregulated private sector; however, as revealed in the health complaints commissioner’s Review of Private Health Service Providers Offering Alcohol and Other Drug Rehabilitation and Counselling Services in Victoria, the costs of private AOD rehabilitation services are prohibitive, and as the services are unregulated, they mostly do not meet appropriate clinical quality and government standards. The report in 2022 had 21 recommendations for government which have not been actioned despite the fact that the government commissioned the report. The action I seek is twofold: that the minister urgently fund more detox beds to ease the rehabilitation bottleneck and the government incorporates the health complaints commissioner’s recommendations into its statewide AOD action plan.
Written Answer
Received: 14 October 2024
Hon. Ingrid Stitt MP
(Minister for Mental Health, Minister for Ageing, Minister for Multicultural Affairs)
I thank the Member for Western Metropolitan Melbourne for his question.
People struggling with addiction deserves the best care wherever they are-that’s why the Allan Labor Government has doubled annual investment in drug and alcohol treatment and support services since 2014.
This sustained investment means that since 2014, the Labor Government has more than doubled the number of residential rehabilitation beds across the state and increased the number of withdrawal beds.
This includes a $52.1 million investment for AOD residential rehabilitation facilities in Corio, Traralgon and Wangaratta that are already providing care to regional Victorians. A further $10.2 million investment has supported the expansion the Westside Lodge dual diagnosis drug and mental health unit at Sunshine hospital. The expansion delivered 10 additional beds, bringing the total to 30, and refurbished shared common areas. Westside Lodge now has the capacity to treat an additional 40 people each year.
But we know there is always more to do, which is why where are also delivering a brand new 30 bed residential withdrawal and rehabilitation facility in Mildura- the first of its kind in the region.
This new facility will provide support to adults seeking help for alcohol and drug dependencies in Mildura and the Mallee, ensuring they can get the right treatment sooner and closer to home. It will include accommodation for up to 30 people undergoing rehabilitation, consulting, staff and support areas and several shared spaces including kitchen, dining, longue, and activity areas. It will also have outdoor decking and landscaped areas for outdoor program activities.
The facility will also include two additional beds to support people who require withdrawal services and will be staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
You also raise the quality and safety of private alcohol and drug services which as non-funded agencies, are managed through health services oversight law, consumer and contract law and privacy laws. These service providers are also expected to comply with relevant legislative standards including the National Quality Framework for Drug and Alcohol Treatment Services which sets a nationally consistent quality benchmark for providers of alcohol and drug treatment across Australia.
Further regulation of alcohol and drug treatment providers as noted in the Health Complaints Commissioner’s review and 2020 report should be targeted and proportionate whilst also preventing a divergence between practice and standards.
The Victorian Government continues to consider the role of regulation to support Victorians to access safe and quality services.
[ENDS]
