Kevin Anderson continues push to repurpose Banksia House

DYLAN SMITH

State Member for Tamworth Kevin Anderson has continued his push to have Banksia House repurposed into a regional mental health, alcohol and drug detoxification and recovery centre.

A parliamentary petition calling on the state government to retain and refurbish the facility recently closed and received 2,462 signatories.

The call-to-action was initiated by Samanthan McBean and supported by Mr Anderson as well as local leaders including Gunnedah Shire mayor Colleen Fuller.

“This petition from residents of New South Wales draws to the attention of the house (House of Assembly) the significant unmet need for alcohol and other drug detoxification services across rural and regional communities,” the petition read.

“In the New England North West of NSW, people requiring detoxification and rehabilitation are often required to travel significant distances away from family, carers, and local support networks.

“This is a barrier to accessing timely and effective treatment and can reduce the likelihood of sustained recovery.”

Addressing the issue in parliament, Mr Anderson said an opportunity had arisen with a new 32-bed mental health facility unveiled following strong community advocacy.

“Our community has been campaigning for a drug and alcohol detoxification and recovery centre to help fill a gap in local service delivery,” he told parliament.

“The statistics are concerning in our region.

“Thirty per cent of mental health emergency department presentations have had psychoactive substance-related disorders as a principal diagnosis.

“That is higher than the state average of 27 per cent.

“Some 46 per cent of people with substance-use disorder have an anxiety or mood disorder.

“Around 50 per cent to 76 per cent of alcohol and other drug-treatment clients have more than one comorbid mental health illness.

“Some 55 per cent of people with psychosis have a history of drug dependence.

“That means for 30 per cent of patients with a serious mental health disorder, it is directly related to their use of substances.”

Mr Anderson said data shows that when those issues are managed, it assists in the recovery from mental health issues.

“For that to happen, patients need to safely withdraw from a substance,” he said.

“In some circumstances, substance withdrawal requires significant medical intervention and monitoring.

“Having a safe, clinical environment to safely withdraw is a must for many people on their long road to recovery.”

Mr Anderson said there are too many tragic stories of people feeling like they have nowhere to go.

“They get stuck between a cycle of addiction and not being able to access support services because they cannot withdraw,” he said.

“Detoxification is an essential precursor to people accessing the recovery and rehabilitation services they need.

“People cannot rehab without detox.

“In Tamworth, there is no local pathway for people with substance-abuse disorders.

“There is nowhere to safely detox.

“That is why I have been working with the community, clinicians, people with lived experience, advocates, psychologists and psychiatrists to bring together a model that will work in Tamworth and the New England North West.”