What comes after the psychiatrists’ pay dispute? A renewed call for consumers to lead the co-design of a new future
by Giancarlo de Vera, BEING CEO
Last Friday, the NSW Industrial Relations Commission handed down its decision (you can read the full decision here) marking a resolution to the protracted psychiatrists’ pay dispute. BEING responded shortly after. This is a welcome and critical step towards stabilisation: widespread resignations at the beginning of the year created a period of immense uncertainty and disruption, the brunt of which was borne by consumers who were the least equipped to deal with the fallout.
But last Friday’s decision was not a silver bullet. While I commend both parties for their commitment to the independent process and for accepting the ruling, our focus must now shift firmly to the future. The dispute brought into stark relief the significant lack of focus and funding into the NSW mental health system. The public scrutiny that followed confirmed what mental health consumers have known for decades: the system has deep-seated structural issues that fail to promote our human rights (I explored this in more detail in a Croakey op-ed I penned earlier in the year).
Now that the dispute is behind us, our focus must now return, with renewed vigour, to the foundational work of ushering in genuine, systemic change. Following the decision, psychiatrists rightly called it a “call to action”. We must now ask two pivotal questions: what that action is for and who needs to heed the call. The answers to these questions will depend on your perspective, and your power in the system. While it may be different for different stakeholders, one thing is clear: the perspective of the mental health consumer must be first among equals.
Why? Well as the psychiatrist dispute highlighted, chronic underfunding and a narrow focus on a limited range of supports have led to an over-reliance on certain types of supports, like acute, in-patient and crisis-driven supports. This inevitably restricts choice. Ultimately, a system that cannot provide choice fails to respect the autonomy and human rights of the people it is designed to serve.
So, when we ask what the “call to action” is for, it must be to realise a vision of a mental health system that offers a spectrum of supports. This includes robust community-based and peer-led services that offer different pathways to recovery and wellbeing. Psychiatrists will have a role to play in this system, but they can’t be the only option.
Which leads me to the other half of the equation: Who is this “call to action” for? The answer to this is two-fold.
First, it is for mental health consumers and our allies. We need members to know about, care about, believe in, and tell other mental health consumers about this vision. If you share this vision, you can take two concrete steps today:
– Ask a fellow consumer to join BEING
– Attend the National Mental Health Consumer Alliance’s Strategic Plan webinar on Thursday 9 October to find out more.
Second, it is for governments – yes, plural. We need both the NSW and Australian governments to commit, unequivocally, to a new era of consumer-led reform, where consumers lead the co-design of a new system. We need to be the architects of the system, and our collective lived experience forms the blueprint.
The real work is ahead of us, and last week’s psychiatrists dispute decision is a reminder to renew our vigour for real change. Let us seize this moment to champion a future where every consumer is at the centre of their care, and feels heard, supported, and empowered on their journey.