More than one-fifth of Tasmania's population were on prescribed mental health-related medication in 2016-17, a new report released on Friday has shown.
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The latest report from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare states 21.2 per cent of the population were on this sort of medication, compared to 16.6 per cent of the nation's population.
The report said the state had, by far, the highest rate of people in residential mental health care facilities (9.3 people per 10,000 of the population) and mental health episodes in these environments (19.2 episodes per 10,000 of the population).
There were 409.4 disability support service users per 100,000 population in Tasmania in 2016-17.
Recurrent per capita expenditure on specialised mental health care services in the state across all areas declined between 2014-15 and 2016-17.
This included grants given to non-government organisations, residential and community mental health services, and specialised psychiatric units or wards in public hospitals.
In Tasmania, 50 per cent of patients waited up to 30 minutes in an emergency department for a mental health-related incident and 90 per cent of patients waits more than two hours.
Mental Health Council of Tasmania chief executive Connie Digolis said research indicated the best outcomes for people experiencing mental health illness was achieved through a mix of psychotherapeutic and pharmaceutical supports.
She said the data did not clearly show whether a combined approach was being provided to Tasmanians.