By XAVIER SMERDON
WYNDHAM and the rest of the western suburbs need more investment in acute mental healthcare to help deal with 50,000 young people, a former Australian of the Year has said.
Psychiatrist Professor Patrick McGorry told Star that Wyndham’s young people were suffering in silence with mental health issues like depression, eating and personality disorders.
Professor McGorry, who was named Australian of the Year in 2010 for his services to youth mental health, estimated that 50,000 young people across the western suburbs were struggling with a mental health issue in any given year.
The news comes as Professor McGorry’s organisation, Orygen Youth Health Research Centre, was announced as the lead agency for the new Werribee headspace facility.
General Manager of Orygen, John Moran, was the man that secured the organisation a place at the headspace centre in Werribee.
Prime Minister Julia Gillard said the announcement was good news for Wyndham residents.
“This will mean that young people in Werribee who are going through a tough time will have access to the support they need,” Ms Gillard said.
“I know that 1 in 4 young people in our community will experience a mental health issue this year.
“And yet three-quarters of these people aren’t receiving the professional support they need because of a lack of youth-specific mental health services.
“A local headspace will fill this gap, and ensure our young people are getting advice and support to help address these issues.”
But Professor McGorry laid down the gauntlet for the State Government, saying more was still needed to ensure young people in Wyndham and the West get the treatment they need.
“Most of the suicides if not all of them could be avoided,” he said.
“Werribee being a massive growth corridor needs greater investment in specialist services and we need the State Government to come to the party now.
“Mental health services in that area are very much out of sync with the population growth in that area.”
