The original intent of the headspace service has been “perverted”: Professor John Mendoza, former CEO of the Mental Health Council of Australia. Photo: Glenn Hunt
EXCLUSIVE
Leading mental health experts have called on the Prime Minister to urgently address what they say is an unfolding disaster within Australia’s national youth mental health service, claiming it is failing vulnerable young people and has become the “McDonalds version of healthcare”.
The criticism of headspace comes as an independent review of Australia’s mental health system also identified serious problems with the program, which has received almost half a billion dollars of federal funding.
Headspace is meant to be saving young people’s lives: Matt Noffs, Ted Noffs Foundation. Photo: Supplied
John Mendoza, former chief executive of the Mental Health Council of Australia and a previous chair of a headspace centre in Queensland, said the original intent of the service had been “perverted” and the national head office had become “obsessed with brand and marketing”.
“You can’t roll out the McDonald’s version of healthcare and expect it’s going to work in a variety of communities,” said Professor Mendoza, who was also chief adviser to then Prime Minister Kevin Rudd as chair of his National Advisory Council on Mental Health.
“Eight years after the first centre opened the evidence isn’t there to support continuing the way we’re going.”
headspace – a network of more than 80 youth-friendly drop-in centres nationwide – has been the flagship program championed by successive federal governments to address soaring rates of youth mental illness and suicide.
There has been bipartisan political support for headspace and its early intervention model – treating 12- to 25-year-olds with mild to moderate mental health problems and drug and alcohol issues before they become costly and debilitating.
But debate has raged about how effective the program – founded by eminent psychiatrist and former Australian of the Year Patrick McGorry? – is in reaching those most at risk.
Matt Noffs, chief executive of the Ted Noffs Foundation – a national adolescent drug and alcohol treatment service – echoed Professor Mendoza’s comments, saying the most disadvantaged were missing out.
He said senior politicians in Canberra had told him they now regret how quickly the program has been expanded but they said headspace could not be challenged because it was like “questioning the Pope”.
“This is what happens when we don’t spend time looking at the evidence, when we don’t think about good governance and structure. It’s one thing if it was a corporation but this is meant to be saving young people’s lives.”
Professor Mendoza said he had talked to managers at headspace centres across Australia over the past 18 months and they were growing increasingly disillusioned.
“They feel like they’re at the end of the food chain. They see that brand trumps relevance to the local youth population and brand trumps efficacy. It’s more important to look good than to be good at helping young people stay well.
He said “stifling levels of micro-management” had left centre operators feeling like “fast food franchisees” with no capacity to respond to the unique needs of their local area. He said a number of operators in indigenous communities had already pulled out of headspace centres due to these concerns.
“Tony Abbott and his Health Minister Sussan Ley must act to get headspace back to what it was meant to be – local communities having a real say not just the tokenistic nonsense that we’ve got at the moment.”
The National Mental Health Commission’s report, released ten days ago, found there was little evidence headspace had increased access to treatment for young people, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds or rural and regional areas.
It said headspace’s “one-size-fits-all shopfront approach” was failing to meet the needs of young people from diverse backgrounds, including those with complex mental health problems.
Another major concern was a lack of data on how effective headspace is, and issues with the program duplicating and competing with existing services.
The Sunday Age last year revealed a major rift within headspace, with one of its founding board members calling for an “urgent, systematic national evaluation” of the model.
Professor Ian Hickie – who resigned from headspace in 2012 to take up a position on the National Mental Health Commission – said many centres were not functional and questioned whether it was reaching the vulnerable young people it was set up to help.
It followed claims from prominent psychiatrists that headspace was a “hopeful experiment” which was corporatising the treatment of mentally ill young people.
At the time, headspace chief executive Chris Tanti? conceded one in five centres were experiencing performance management issues related to workforce shortages, difficulties with external agencies, or low client numbers.
Health Minister Sussan Ley said it was clear issues had been raised about headspace but the comission’s review proposed a “way forward” and the government’s expert reference group would work with the organisation to make improvements.
“Let’s not forget the review is very clear the mental health sector as a whole is fractured and I’m hoping these ongoing turf wars over money and recognition can be overcome so we can successfully deliver this essential national reform.”
An independent evaluation of headspace is due to be delivered to the government next month.
headspace declined to comment directly on the concerns raised by Professor Mendoza and others. In a statement to The Sunday Age, Mr Tanti said headspace was a “visible organisation” designed to “meet the very needs” identified by the Mental Health review.
“Creating a visible organisation helps families and young people in distress to know where they can go for help,” Mr Tanti said, noting headspace had provided services to more than 120,000 people since 2007.
“Our services are regularly monitored to ensure we are as effective as possible.”
Professor McGorry? declined to comment.