The ACT government has agreed to report to the Legislative Assembly about measures being pursued by ACT Health to improve mental health services in the territory.

Chief Minister Katy Gallagher made the commitment during debate in the Assembly this week on a motion moved by shadow mental health minister Giulia Jones calling for an urgent review of Canberra’s adult mental health unit.

Ms Gallagher amended the motion to delete the call for a review but she agreed to report to the Assembly by the last sitting day of 2014, at the latest, on measures being pursued to enhance mental health services in the territory, including progress on a post-occupancy evaluation of the unit.

The amended motion, which also said the government would ensure staff and patient safety at the mental health unit remained a priority, was passed.

Mrs Jones said Ms Gallagher had accepted there was a need to report back to the Assembly about steps taken to make improvements at the unit.

“Time will tell whether she’s serious or not because it’s easy to put a motion through the Assembly but it’s difficult to come back with some actual changes having taken place,” she said. 

Mrs Jones said she had heard  “disturbing” stories from nurses, including one of an alleged assault where “a nurse was held by the hair while being repeatedly punched in the face by a client” and another about a nurse who had to take months off work after being assaulted.

Safety and security at the unit has come under scrutiny after The Canberra Times revealed a provisional improvement notice relating to violence and aggression at the unit was issued in July.

Ms Gallagher said she was “happy” to keep the Assembly informed of work under way at the unit.

“We have put some additional staffing resources into the mental health unit to address some of the immediate concerns of staff and we’re now going through a process of working with them, management and staff, to sort through some of the other issues that have been raised,” she said.

“The matters are well in hand, they’re being actively managed on a daily basis, but I think it is important to inform the Assembly and keep them updated to assure them that appropriate steps are being taken to manage what is a very, very challenging workplace.

Ms Gallagher said feedback from staff was that they were happy management were taking their issues seriously and responding.

“But I don’t think we can underestimate how challenging this workplace is. The mental health unit is the intensive care unit for the acute mental health system, that’s what the unit is established for, so you have more than 20 people there, usually involuntarily, with very, very significant psychiatric illness.

“That creates the very challenging environment and staff do an incredible job to manage that environment and to manage it appropriately, so the response is a mix of additional staffing resources but it’s also about ensuring that we have the right skill mix on shift … and that we’re providing training opportunities for staff to upskill and make sure they feel protected in that environment.”

Mrs Jones said the issues were “very, very serious” and she would be watching closely to ensure the government was taking them seriously.

“It really should be being dealt with like a crisis because it is,” she said.

Ms Gallagher’s amended motion said the government was continuing to “deliver an enhanced network of mental health facilities and services” through forthcoming amendments to the Mental Health Act, the construction of the secure mental health unit and “enhanced community mental health services”.

This article first appeared on ‘Canberra Times’ on 18 September 2014.