1632. Hon Alison Xamon to the parliamentary secretary representing the Deputy Premier; Minister for Health; Mental Health:
I refer to the Integrated Atlas of Mental Health, Alcohol and Other Drugs, the development of which was initiated in 2016 through a partnership between the Western Australian Primary Health Alliance and the Mental Health Commission, and I ask:
(a) when will the Integrated Atlas be launched; and
(b) considering the time frame between the initial collation of the data, how can the Minister be assured that the information contained in the Integrated Atlas remains current?
Hon Alanna Clohesy replied:
(a) The Mental Health Commission (MHC) has completed a comprehensive review of the Integrated Atlas and has subsequently approved its publication, recommending it is utilised by the Western Australian Primary Health Alliance (WAPHA) and the MHC for planning and policy purposes. The MHC and WAPHA are now in discussion regarding a publication date with an expectation that this will occur in October 2018.
(b) The completed Integrated Atlas only includes services that are considered stable (i.e. have been funded for more than three years or have funding secured for three years) with 20% or more clients with a mental health diagnosis. The underlying data within the Atlas is therefore unlikely to have varied significantly. The MHC is continuing to liaise with WAPHA to determine options for updating the Atlas in future.