HEALTH Minister Michelle O'Byrne yesterday announced the remainder of Labor's health policy, focused on preventative health and early intervention mental health care.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The plan included a $3 million investment into child and adolescent mental health services over three years, a $1.6 million investment into preventative health over two years, and a commitment to develop a healthy spaces and places policy.
Ms O'Byrne said the mental health funding would go towards a seven-person multidisciplinary team focused on children up to 11 years old.
She said the preventative health would go towards developing Thrive Tasmania, a program which would work through local councils, neighbourhood houses, and child and family centres to make sure people got access to important health information.
Tasmania Heart Foundation chief executive Graeme Lynch welcomed the commitment to the healthy spaces and places policy, saying the foundation had pushed for it for about 10 years.
He said the policy would drive healthy eating, physical activity, social inclusion and mental well-being, by encouraging the health-conscious planning of new infrastructure.
Mental Health Council of Tasmania chief executive Darren Carr said he was thrilled that Labor, the Liberals and the Greens had announced mental health policies.
Opposition health spokesman Jeremy Rockliff said Labor's ``11th-hour, half-hearted'' health policies were an admission it had failed.
