Mental health services in South Australia's mid north region are stretched to capacity, with many not receiving treatment.
A report commissioned by local government consortium Legatus Group highlights Census data including information on residents with long-term mental health conditions.
Legatus chief executive Simon Millcock said the region had a higher percentage of residents with long-term mental health conditions than the state and national averages.
"We need to think about how we deliver mental health services for regional South Australia differently to how they are delivered in the eastern states," Mr Millcock said.
"They need to be regionally specific, culturally appropriate outreach services that are face to face."
Struggle to receive care
The report found that greater awareness around mental health had led to about 30 per cent more people seeking support but regional service levels had remained the same or had been reduced
Clare general practitioner Michael Nugent said he had witnessed a backlog for treatment steadily grow in recent months.
"When people are in crisis they really need to access support as soon as possible," Dr Nugent said.
"There are services that provide mental health support locally but many of them have been swamped in the last six to 12 months and the waiting list to get people seen and helped has blown out to many months in some cases."
New model to connect
Lifeline Broken Hill Country to Coast opened a walk-in and referral connect centre in Clare 18 months ago after launching its the first centre in Broken Hill in 2014.
"They have been terrific at stepping in at very short notice and providing very effective support," Dr Nugent said.
"The feedback I'm getting from a lot of patients has been really good."
Country to Coast chief executive Scott Hammond said the centre's ease of access and in-person assistance were a key advantage.
"People can walk directly in and get support," Mr Hammond said.
"Our councillors can refer them to the appropriate service so they don't have to tell their stories numerous times, we walk with them through that process."
Mr Hammond said issues for patients such as drought and COVID had been compounded by cost of living and housing pressures.
"We've had over 400 people that have accessed the service for counselling and plenty more who have received referrals as well," he said.
Community pitches in
Connect centre volunteer Dwayne Menzies said face to face assistance for mental health support could make all the difference.
"It's a service that I didn't have when I was struggling, it's a neutral place where you can find support," he said
"We try to break the ice with a person because that first step can be hard to take."
"Sometimes it can be really important to see someone in front of you, to see their body language, to see that they care and those people tend to leave knowing there's someone in to bat with them," he said.
Mr Menzies said he had volunteered at the centre since it opened and had seen a lot of faces come through the doors.
"A lot of young people particularly are struggling because they haven't had enough life experience to know what services are out there so we make that process just a little bit easier," he said.
"If I had these services when I needed help, it would have been a lot better."
Support to expand
Legatus, Lifeline and three regional MPs have written to the state health minister calling for support to establish another Lifeline connect centre in Port Pirie.
"We certainly want to make sure that the Clare Connect centre is supported into the longer term and support for a centre in Port Pirie would have outreach services to Peterborough and down on the Yorke Peninsula," Mr Millcock said.
The Premier's advocate for suicide prevention Nadia Clancy met this week with Lifeline in Clare to discuss the services they provided, including the Lifeline Connect model.
A government spokesperson said Ms Clancy was looking forward to working with the health minister to listen to people's experiences and explore future opportunities in the regions.
