Mental health funding for people with intellectual disbaility queried

Health advocate Jim Simpson's letter to the editor, Sydney Morning Herald today:

Most needy left out 

There is a glaring gap in the NSW government's "once in a generation overhaul of mental health services" ("Community to be focus of extra $115 m in funding", December 16). The government's response makes no mention of people who have both an intellectual disability and a mental illness. These 60,000 people have poor access to mental health services. Diagnosis and treatment of mental illness is challenging because of the interplay of conditions. Mental health services lack skills and tend to say, "It's just behavioural, not our responsibility". 

The needs of this group have been well stated by the Mental Health Commission. The government says the commission's report is a "10-year roadmap for strengthening mental health care in NSW". But the government's action plan does not mention people with intellectual disability. It must now put them on the road to action.

Jim Simpson NSW Council for Intellectual Disability, Surry Hills 

Further information on the provision of mental health services for people with ID in NSW:

• Accessible Mental Health Services for People with an Intellectual Disability: A Guide for Providers (The Guide), Department of Developmental Disability Neuropsychiatry, UNSW, 2014