February 27, 2025 • 15 mins
Pambula mum Wendy Wait knows the mental health system inside out, as she draws on her son's journey.
Now she's deriving a petition to get the sub-acute mental health ward Bega has always been promised.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
I ah far south coast.
Speaker 2 (00:02):
But if there is a space that has been sitting
there idle for that long, you have to question what's
going on.
Speaker 3 (00:09):
Hello Ali Droua with you and courage and tenacity are
the qualities Our next guest today has buyed the bucket
load and her quest for improved mental health services in
our region is relentless. Pambula mum Wendy Waite knows the
mental health system inside and out. She is spent a
decade by the side of her son struggling with mental
(00:30):
health and that journey has propelled Wendy into the world
of advocacy as she campaigns for the Southeast Regional Hospital
in Biga to have its own subacute mental health ward. Now,
the hospital has a high dependency unit and a low
dependency unit, but there isn't a sub acute mental health ward.
And that's a ward which enables individuals the option for
(00:52):
recovery support without the formal hospital admission criteria. The subacute
ward at Southeast Regional Hospital or with something that was
always promised and never delivered. Canberra Hospital is the closest
subacute ward to Biger, but that really isn't practical. For
the individual or their support base. So Wendy Wait launched
(01:13):
a petition and it even had the blessing of the
new South Wales MP for Biger Doctor Michael holland jim
ell Wells caught up with Wendy Wait and found this
mum's determination is being fueled by more than just her
own personal story.
Speaker 4 (01:28):
Why did you start this petition?
Speaker 2 (01:32):
Family member has been unwell for some time and for
the last sort of ten years, we've spent time at
the Southeast Regional Hospital in the mental health ward, coming
and going in a visiting and I've walked through an
unused space which is the subacute ward for those various
times that family member's been in there to find that
(01:54):
it's exactly the same as it was last time. And
that's you know, nine to ten years ago. And every
time I say I've got to do something and I
send out an email to whoever I need to and
I get the same response back. It's always money usually
and staffing and unavailable to you know, they haven't got
the staff, the qualified staff, trained staff, they don't have
(02:14):
the money and other it's just not good enough. Given
we have a huge issue within the biga Ala shi
U Abadella Shi probably Austray wide, I would say in
regard to mental health. And you know they set this
thing up originally as a new hospital with three wards
for a reason, given that you know, ideally this is
the best practice I would imagine for mental health with
(02:36):
a transitioning sort of section, which is the sub acute
ward out into every day living. And it sat there
idle doing nothing for over ten years. You're nine to
ten years, so that time I'm doing something, I'm passionate
about it. I'm concerned about it, and we have a
huge issue and it's time to jump up and down.
And we have you know, doctor Michael Holland, and we
(02:58):
have a great opportunity with him to support us in
bringing this to the legist of Assembly to make a
difference and hopefully get this ward open.
Speaker 4 (03:07):
So what is a subacute mental health ward? Describe it
for us and why is it important?
Speaker 2 (03:14):
Well, I believe it's important because there are currently two wards.
There's a higher dependency ward and a low dependency ward.
And the higher dependency ward is where you first go
to spend some time to work out what's going on,
to de escalate, to settle your downs very very restricted,
and you're there, you know, everything's taken off you. You
are you know, someone's watching you all the time. And
(03:35):
then you are moved to the next ward and the
low acute, and there you are given, you know, some strategies.
You usually are seen by a psychiatrist and sometimes I mean,
I don't ever think they push you out, but you know,
you're given some time to you know, things have de
escalated till you've got your life a little bit back
on track and medication has been stabilized, and they release
(03:57):
you out into the mainstream world where hopefully, you know,
you can get on with things. But very little, you know,
we've found over the years, there's been very little support
in regard to assessing, you know, because they're so flat
chat I understand all that, you know, and OT this
time worked with our family member to work on a plan,
(04:19):
a preventative plan really for the future. And that's the
first time in ten years that that has been offered
to us. You know, we've had our own sort of
systems in place, but this was a really good measure
and if there was a sub acute ward that was
less restrictive, there would be more time for these preventative
measures to make sure that that person is really ready
to move back in to their everyday lives. And a
(04:41):
subacute word is less restrictive, more people might actually come
on board. If they've got less restrictions, they might actually
turn up to the hospital and get that support that
they need in that situation because they can come and
go a bit more freely. And the only subacute ward
that we found, you know, that we had any dealings with,
was in Canberra Hospital. It was called the two B
ward and that ward had a therapy dog. It had
(05:03):
a totally different feel to you know, the two other
wards at Southeast Regional Hospital, where people are a lot
more able to go and get themselves a coffee. They
didn't have to ask a doctor and get the psychiatrists
to give them the go ahead and release them from
that ward. So less restrictive, more people might actually seek
(05:24):
support and get the support they need, psychiatry support which
most people can't afford. If that three tiered system was
allowed to happen, and with the psychiatry, what we've found
in our time, there is a lot of it. You know,
they talk about not being able to attract professionals, but
a lot of it's online and are you know, we're
talking zoom meetings with a psychiatrist in Sydney or Canberra
(05:48):
or whoever. So that shouldn't be any different really, you
know if this.
Speaker 4 (05:52):
Ward was open and so it's an empty room, it's.
Speaker 2 (05:56):
An empty room that seems to be a meeting room
for the doctors and the psychia. It seems to be
a junk room for their gear. It seems to be
a place to store the bikes and the massage chair.
And I mean again, we're seeing it superficially as we
walk through it. And maybe it's a useful space because
they don't have other space, but it's had seven beds
(06:16):
that are sitting there. Wow.
Speaker 4 (06:18):
And how big is the mental health problem in the
bigger Yurubidella region? How high is the need for more
treatment and care well?
Speaker 2 (06:29):
And this came directly from Rose Jackson a media release.
I mean, it's huge from the statistics that I've learned.
But the number one cause this is Australia White for
starters of death among Australian men aged fifteen to forty
four years is from suicide. And you know, she says,
this is the mental health Senator Rose Jackson that that
(06:51):
she's dedicated to moving this dial by providing real support
to mental health care providers in the community. Well, that
real support, in my mind is getting this ward open
because the bigger hospital, Southeast Regional Hospital, is the only
hospital for long term placements that go all up to
Wollongong and all the way down south to the border
(07:11):
and inland as well to Kuma and beyond. So you know,
if someone here needed a treatment for slightly longer periods
of time that's not overnight, they would have to either
go if they were further north to Wollongong or to Golben.
In twenty twenty one, ten point three percent of Beager
Valley residents reported having a mental health condition, including depression
or anxiety. This is higher than the state average of
(07:35):
eight percent and the national average of eight point eight percent.
So adults in regional New South Wales, including the Bega Valley,
experience higher rates of psychological distress compared to those in
metropolitan areas, often due to limited access to mental health services.
Speaker 3 (07:53):
Some quite astounding figures there from Wendy Waite, the Pambula
Mum driving a petition to open what is a much
needed sub acute mental health ward here in Beger Next
the challenges of getting changed for not just her son,
but for other families on the Far South Coast.
Speaker 1 (08:12):
I art Far South Coast, i art Far South Coast.
Speaker 3 (08:22):
More now of Jammel Wells and her conversation with Wendy Waite,
the Pambula mum driving a petition to open a sub
acute mental health ward at the Southeast Regional Hospital in Bega.
Wendy Wait's online petition needed five hundred signatures to grab
the attention of Rose Jackson. She's the new South Wales
Minister for Mental Health, but that's not the end of
(08:43):
it by a long shot. Hundreds more signatures are needed
for the matter to get to the floor of Parliament
for debate. Her big motivation is for other families trying
to navigate the best care for their loved ones.
Speaker 2 (08:57):
Look, it's the long road I think with an anybody
that lives with someone with mental health, you know it's challenging.
And when you see a service that they's doing their
best and that certainly you know they've got great staff.
You know, the psychiatrists of fabulous, you know they do
try and provide the support once you get out. But
if there is a space that has been sitting there
(09:17):
idle for that long, you have to question what's going on.
And that's what we're doing here. We're trying to get
a petition up and running to get people to sign Currently,
we have five hundred and eighty four signatures from people
in the Beager Valley and Eurobadella Shire advocating for this ward,
this sub acute ward to be open and the need
(09:37):
for better services for people experiencing mental health in the
Begger Valley. As a parent, it's exhausting and luckily, as
I said, you know, we do have Michael Holland supporting us,
and we have reached the golden number of over five
hundred signatures. But I haven't heard from Senator Rose Jackson yet,
(09:58):
because that's what sort of I would have thought. That
was one of the stipulations. Once you get five hundred signatures,
you know, you get an acknowledgment of that. I haven't
received anything yet, so I'm waiting for that.
Speaker 4 (10:08):
How many are you aiming for? How many?
Speaker 2 (10:11):
Yeah, well, that's that's the next big jump. We rejump
from five hundred signatures to twenty thousand signatures. I have
to try and get within New South Wales. You you
only can live in New South Wales to do this,
and that's a challenge because you know, we started off
with a bang and then it sort of slowed down
a bit and now it started up a bit and
hopefully this podcast will help to generate it again and
(10:34):
we need everyone to come on board because there's only
I think thirty eight thousand in the beg of valley Shire,
and I think a total of a you know, maybe
eighty thousand between the two shires, and that they're the
I mean, this directly affects them. So for a lot
of people, I guess you know, they may see this
but not be that interested. So it's going to be
very very hard to get twenty thousand signatures.
Speaker 4 (10:55):
Well you sound very determined, So what do you want
once you get the thousand signatures? What's the first step if.
Speaker 2 (11:03):
That happens, and you know, I am a glass half
full girl. What happens is Michael Holland has agreed to
take it to the Legis of Assembly where it's tabled
and debated in Parliament. And with that debate, I mean
a lot of people, even within Southeast Regional Hospital, they
are not aware that there is this sub acute water.
The mental health ward is removed from the main part.
(11:24):
They're almost like they're a different department. Nobody knows what's
going on down there. So, you know, education about the
need to get this open, awareness that it's just sitting there,
and what a wonderful opportunity if we can get it
open and available for more people.
Speaker 4 (11:39):
Wendy, can you talk us through one example of an
experience you've had where you've taken that loved one family
member to hospital trying to get help, and you've had
to wait a long time, or you haven't got what
you've needed. It's been really frustrating for you.
Speaker 2 (11:54):
Again, I think I'm not new to this, and I
think anybody that's been in an emergency department and spent
time they're waiting for any form of treatment, it gets
frustrated because there's often a really long waiting time and
the ambulance officers are often having to wait with you.
And I found that frustrating one time when they had
(12:14):
to wait for hours until we could actually get admitted
because of the queue, I guess and the priorities, and
you know, they obviously prioritize who needs to go in
next and whatever. And then to get in there and
to be asked the same questions of our family member
over and over again. You know a lot of this
information is on file, and yet we hear the same
(12:35):
thing what's going on? And so to repeat that over
and over again is pretty hard, and you know, to
and even as parents, to hear stuff that you know,
we've actually been through this before. We don't. We know
that the system, we know what the process is. I
guess they're just doing their jobs, but that sort of
seems a bit demeaning at times to then be told well,
(12:56):
you probably there's no bed, you probably need to go
home again, and then you're back next day because you
need to be there. Yeah, those sorts of situations are
incredibly frustrating, But I do know the emergency staff are
doing the best they possibly can, the nurses, the doctors
under a trying situation. But it doesn't make it any
easier for those sitting in a corridor waiting to be
(13:18):
admitted in a noisy, disturbed environment where it should be
quiet and settling for someone to de escalate.
Speaker 4 (13:27):
Why is this such a high incidence of mental health
problems in your area? Do you think what contributes to it.
Speaker 2 (13:34):
I would say a combination of things in our area
given we've been through fires and COVID like everybody, but
the fires are a biggie. I think the climate in action,
our government's not doing enough in regard to that, and
concern around their future for young people anyway. You know,
it's a farming community too, so a lot of farmers
(13:54):
frustrated by weather events, I guess, And I would say
the big one is possibly not having a service that's
catering to their needs and supporting them enough.
Speaker 4 (14:05):
And what do people need to do If they want
to sign your petition?
Speaker 2 (14:09):
They can get onto the Social Justice Advocates of the
Safo Coast website and the petition is pegged up there
on the top. Pinned up on the top. There's a
QR code and a Legisltive Assembly website where you can
look into where it says legislateve Assembly petition and you
just have to thumb down a little bit from there
(14:30):
and it'll ask you if you're a New South Wales
resident and you need to tick that box. You just
sign your details. It takes literally two minutes to do,
and then you have to obviously just say that there's
a cars in a picture, or you're not a zombie
or those sort of things at the end, and it's
a tick, and you're another number, hopefully making a difference
to getting towards our twenty thousand signatures.
Speaker 3 (14:52):
If you or someone you know is struggling with mental
health issues, Lifeline's twenty four hour crisis support line is
thirty eleven fourteen. We reached out to New South Wales
Health to inquire about the state of play on any
future funding release for a subacute ward in Bega. Southern
New South Wales Local Health District says it is committed
(15:13):
to ensuring timely access to the best possible mental health care,
and it says it has received funding for more community
mental health services, including those associated with the Biga Safe Haven,
which now has a virtual care team and the Suicide
Prevention Outreach Team. That's all for I Heart Far South
(15:33):
Coast for now proudly supported by the New South Wales Government.
Speaker 1 (15:42):
iHeart Far South Coast
I ah far south coast.
Speaker 2 (00:02):
But if there is a space that has been sitting
there idle for that long, you have to question what's
going on.
Speaker 3 (00:09):
Hello Ali Droua with you and courage and tenacity are
the qualities Our next guest today has buyed the bucket
load and her quest for improved mental health services in
our region is relentless. Pambula mum Wendy Waite knows the
mental health system inside and out. She is spent a
decade by the side of her son struggling with mental
(00:30):
health and that journey has propelled Wendy into the world
of advocacy as she campaigns for the Southeast Regional Hospital
in Biga to have its own subacute mental health ward. Now,
the hospital has a high dependency unit and a low
dependency unit, but there isn't a sub acute mental health ward.
And that's a ward which enables individuals the option for
(00:52):
recovery support without the formal hospital admission criteria. The subacute
ward at Southeast Regional Hospital or with something that was
always promised and never delivered. Canberra Hospital is the closest
subacute ward to Biger, but that really isn't practical. For
the individual or their support base. So Wendy Wait launched
(01:13):
a petition and it even had the blessing of the
new South Wales MP for Biger Doctor Michael holland jim
ell Wells caught up with Wendy Wait and found this
mum's determination is being fueled by more than just her
own personal story.
Speaker 4 (01:28):
Why did you start this petition?
Speaker 2 (01:32):
Family member has been unwell for some time and for
the last sort of ten years, we've spent time at
the Southeast Regional Hospital in the mental health ward, coming
and going in a visiting and I've walked through an
unused space which is the subacute ward for those various
times that family member's been in there to find that
(01:54):
it's exactly the same as it was last time. And
that's you know, nine to ten years ago. And every
time I say I've got to do something and I
send out an email to whoever I need to and
I get the same response back. It's always money usually
and staffing and unavailable to you know, they haven't got
the staff, the qualified staff, trained staff, they don't have
(02:14):
the money and other it's just not good enough. Given
we have a huge issue within the biga Ala shi
U Abadella Shi probably Austray wide, I would say in
regard to mental health. And you know they set this
thing up originally as a new hospital with three wards
for a reason, given that you know, ideally this is
the best practice I would imagine for mental health with
(02:36):
a transitioning sort of section, which is the sub acute
ward out into every day living. And it sat there
idle doing nothing for over ten years. You're nine to
ten years, so that time I'm doing something, I'm passionate
about it. I'm concerned about it, and we have a
huge issue and it's time to jump up and down.
And we have you know, doctor Michael Holland, and we
(02:58):
have a great opportunity with him to support us in
bringing this to the legist of Assembly to make a
difference and hopefully get this ward open.
Speaker 4 (03:07):
So what is a subacute mental health ward? Describe it
for us and why is it important?
Speaker 2 (03:14):
Well, I believe it's important because there are currently two wards.
There's a higher dependency ward and a low dependency ward.
And the higher dependency ward is where you first go
to spend some time to work out what's going on,
to de escalate, to settle your downs very very restricted,
and you're there, you know, everything's taken off you. You
are you know, someone's watching you all the time. And
(03:35):
then you are moved to the next ward and the
low acute, and there you are given, you know, some strategies.
You usually are seen by a psychiatrist and sometimes I mean,
I don't ever think they push you out, but you know,
you're given some time to you know, things have de
escalated till you've got your life a little bit back
on track and medication has been stabilized, and they release
(03:57):
you out into the mainstream world where hopefully, you know,
you can get on with things. But very little, you know,
we've found over the years, there's been very little support
in regard to assessing, you know, because they're so flat
chat I understand all that, you know, and OT this
time worked with our family member to work on a plan,
(04:19):
a preventative plan really for the future. And that's the
first time in ten years that that has been offered
to us. You know, we've had our own sort of
systems in place, but this was a really good measure
and if there was a sub acute ward that was
less restrictive, there would be more time for these preventative
measures to make sure that that person is really ready
to move back in to their everyday lives. And a
(04:41):
subacute word is less restrictive, more people might actually come
on board. If they've got less restrictions, they might actually
turn up to the hospital and get that support that
they need in that situation because they can come and
go a bit more freely. And the only subacute ward
that we found, you know, that we had any dealings with,
was in Canberra Hospital. It was called the two B
ward and that ward had a therapy dog. It had
(05:03):
a totally different feel to you know, the two other
wards at Southeast Regional Hospital, where people are a lot
more able to go and get themselves a coffee. They
didn't have to ask a doctor and get the psychiatrists
to give them the go ahead and release them from
that ward. So less restrictive, more people might actually seek
(05:24):
support and get the support they need, psychiatry support which
most people can't afford. If that three tiered system was
allowed to happen, and with the psychiatry, what we've found
in our time, there is a lot of it. You know,
they talk about not being able to attract professionals, but
a lot of it's online and are you know, we're
talking zoom meetings with a psychiatrist in Sydney or Canberra
(05:48):
or whoever. So that shouldn't be any different really, you
know if this.
Speaker 4 (05:52):
Ward was open and so it's an empty room, it's.
Speaker 2 (05:56):
An empty room that seems to be a meeting room
for the doctors and the psychia. It seems to be
a junk room for their gear. It seems to be
a place to store the bikes and the massage chair.
And I mean again, we're seeing it superficially as we
walk through it. And maybe it's a useful space because
they don't have other space, but it's had seven beds
(06:16):
that are sitting there. Wow.
Speaker 4 (06:18):
And how big is the mental health problem in the
bigger Yurubidella region? How high is the need for more
treatment and care well?
Speaker 2 (06:29):
And this came directly from Rose Jackson a media release.
I mean, it's huge from the statistics that I've learned.
But the number one cause this is Australia White for
starters of death among Australian men aged fifteen to forty
four years is from suicide. And you know, she says,
this is the mental health Senator Rose Jackson that that
(06:51):
she's dedicated to moving this dial by providing real support
to mental health care providers in the community. Well, that
real support, in my mind is getting this ward open
because the bigger hospital, Southeast Regional Hospital, is the only
hospital for long term placements that go all up to
Wollongong and all the way down south to the border
(07:11):
and inland as well to Kuma and beyond. So you know,
if someone here needed a treatment for slightly longer periods
of time that's not overnight, they would have to either
go if they were further north to Wollongong or to Golben.
In twenty twenty one, ten point three percent of Beager
Valley residents reported having a mental health condition, including depression
or anxiety. This is higher than the state average of
(07:35):
eight percent and the national average of eight point eight percent.
So adults in regional New South Wales, including the Bega Valley,
experience higher rates of psychological distress compared to those in
metropolitan areas, often due to limited access to mental health services.
Speaker 3 (07:53):
Some quite astounding figures there from Wendy Waite, the Pambula
Mum driving a petition to open what is a much
needed sub acute mental health ward here in Beger Next
the challenges of getting changed for not just her son,
but for other families on the Far South Coast.
Speaker 1 (08:12):
I art Far South Coast, i art Far South Coast.
Speaker 3 (08:22):
More now of Jammel Wells and her conversation with Wendy Waite,
the Pambula mum driving a petition to open a sub
acute mental health ward at the Southeast Regional Hospital in Bega.
Wendy Wait's online petition needed five hundred signatures to grab
the attention of Rose Jackson. She's the new South Wales
Minister for Mental Health, but that's not the end of
(08:43):
it by a long shot. Hundreds more signatures are needed
for the matter to get to the floor of Parliament
for debate. Her big motivation is for other families trying
to navigate the best care for their loved ones.
Speaker 2 (08:57):
Look, it's the long road I think with an anybody
that lives with someone with mental health, you know it's challenging.
And when you see a service that they's doing their
best and that certainly you know they've got great staff.
You know, the psychiatrists of fabulous, you know they do
try and provide the support once you get out. But
if there is a space that has been sitting there
(09:17):
idle for that long, you have to question what's going on.
And that's what we're doing here. We're trying to get
a petition up and running to get people to sign Currently,
we have five hundred and eighty four signatures from people
in the Beager Valley and Eurobadella Shire advocating for this ward,
this sub acute ward to be open and the need
(09:37):
for better services for people experiencing mental health in the
Begger Valley. As a parent, it's exhausting and luckily, as
I said, you know, we do have Michael Holland supporting us,
and we have reached the golden number of over five
hundred signatures. But I haven't heard from Senator Rose Jackson yet,
(09:58):
because that's what sort of I would have thought. That
was one of the stipulations. Once you get five hundred signatures,
you know, you get an acknowledgment of that. I haven't
received anything yet, so I'm waiting for that.
Speaker 4 (10:08):
How many are you aiming for? How many?
Speaker 2 (10:11):
Yeah, well, that's that's the next big jump. We rejump
from five hundred signatures to twenty thousand signatures. I have
to try and get within New South Wales. You you
only can live in New South Wales to do this,
and that's a challenge because you know, we started off
with a bang and then it sort of slowed down
a bit and now it started up a bit and
hopefully this podcast will help to generate it again and
(10:34):
we need everyone to come on board because there's only
I think thirty eight thousand in the beg of valley Shire,
and I think a total of a you know, maybe
eighty thousand between the two shires, and that they're the
I mean, this directly affects them. So for a lot
of people, I guess you know, they may see this
but not be that interested. So it's going to be
very very hard to get twenty thousand signatures.
Speaker 4 (10:55):
Well you sound very determined, So what do you want
once you get the thousand signatures? What's the first step if.
Speaker 2 (11:03):
That happens, and you know, I am a glass half
full girl. What happens is Michael Holland has agreed to
take it to the Legis of Assembly where it's tabled
and debated in Parliament. And with that debate, I mean
a lot of people, even within Southeast Regional Hospital, they
are not aware that there is this sub acute water.
The mental health ward is removed from the main part.
(11:24):
They're almost like they're a different department. Nobody knows what's
going on down there. So, you know, education about the
need to get this open, awareness that it's just sitting there,
and what a wonderful opportunity if we can get it
open and available for more people.
Speaker 4 (11:39):
Wendy, can you talk us through one example of an
experience you've had where you've taken that loved one family
member to hospital trying to get help, and you've had
to wait a long time, or you haven't got what
you've needed. It's been really frustrating for you.
Speaker 2 (11:54):
Again, I think I'm not new to this, and I
think anybody that's been in an emergency department and spent
time they're waiting for any form of treatment, it gets
frustrated because there's often a really long waiting time and
the ambulance officers are often having to wait with you.
And I found that frustrating one time when they had
(12:14):
to wait for hours until we could actually get admitted
because of the queue, I guess and the priorities, and
you know, they obviously prioritize who needs to go in
next and whatever. And then to get in there and
to be asked the same questions of our family member
over and over again. You know a lot of this
information is on file, and yet we hear the same
(12:35):
thing what's going on? And so to repeat that over
and over again is pretty hard, and you know, to
and even as parents, to hear stuff that you know,
we've actually been through this before. We don't. We know
that the system, we know what the process is. I
guess they're just doing their jobs, but that sort of
seems a bit demeaning at times to then be told well,
(12:56):
you probably there's no bed, you probably need to go
home again, and then you're back next day because you
need to be there. Yeah, those sorts of situations are
incredibly frustrating, But I do know the emergency staff are
doing the best they possibly can, the nurses, the doctors
under a trying situation. But it doesn't make it any
easier for those sitting in a corridor waiting to be
(13:18):
admitted in a noisy, disturbed environment where it should be
quiet and settling for someone to de escalate.
Speaker 4 (13:27):
Why is this such a high incidence of mental health
problems in your area? Do you think what contributes to it.
Speaker 2 (13:34):
I would say a combination of things in our area
given we've been through fires and COVID like everybody, but
the fires are a biggie. I think the climate in action,
our government's not doing enough in regard to that, and
concern around their future for young people anyway. You know,
it's a farming community too, so a lot of farmers
(13:54):
frustrated by weather events, I guess, And I would say
the big one is possibly not having a service that's
catering to their needs and supporting them enough.
Speaker 4 (14:05):
And what do people need to do If they want
to sign your petition?
Speaker 2 (14:09):
They can get onto the Social Justice Advocates of the
Safo Coast website and the petition is pegged up there
on the top. Pinned up on the top. There's a
QR code and a Legisltive Assembly website where you can
look into where it says legislateve Assembly petition and you
just have to thumb down a little bit from there
(14:30):
and it'll ask you if you're a New South Wales
resident and you need to tick that box. You just
sign your details. It takes literally two minutes to do,
and then you have to obviously just say that there's
a cars in a picture, or you're not a zombie
or those sort of things at the end, and it's
a tick, and you're another number, hopefully making a difference
to getting towards our twenty thousand signatures.
Speaker 3 (14:52):
If you or someone you know is struggling with mental
health issues, Lifeline's twenty four hour crisis support line is
thirty eleven fourteen. We reached out to New South Wales
Health to inquire about the state of play on any
future funding release for a subacute ward in Bega. Southern
New South Wales Local Health District says it is committed
(15:13):
to ensuring timely access to the best possible mental health care,
and it says it has received funding for more community
mental health services, including those associated with the Biga Safe Haven,
which now has a virtual care team and the Suicide
Prevention Outreach Team. That's all for I Heart Far South
(15:33):
Coast for now proudly supported by the New South Wales Government.
Speaker 1 (15:42):
iHeart Far South Coast
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