June 29, 2006
NSW: A new direction for Mental Health
A snapshot of mental health services in NSW in 2006
> There were approximately 1.1 million people who experienced a mental illness in NSW in 2005-06.
> About 170,000 or two to three per cent had a severe mental illness.
> Mental health units in NSW hospitals managed approximately 26,000 overnight admissions in 2004-05.
> Community mental health services in NSW made 2.3 million clinical interventions each in 2004-05.
> The suicide rate was 8.6 per 100,000 in 2004 – the lowest in 50 years.
> In 2005-06, the dedicated mental health recurrent budget was $854 million. Almost half the budget is dedicated to community mental health services.