Skills shortage contribute to rural depression
Posted
A shortage of GPs and psychiatrists in rural communities in Tasmania is being blamed for a lack of improvement in the number of people suffering from depression and anxiety.
The problem has been highlighted at a forum in Hobart on drought and depression.
Bigger farms and fewer farmers are making regional communities more remote than they've ever been.
Access to support services is increasingly difficult and it's not just the distance to travel for help that's causing the problem.
GP Dr Rob Walters says there's an increasing shortage of qualified people.
For the first time a roundtable forum on rural health, drought and depression is being held in Tasmania, addressing these sorts of gaps in the support.
Delegates from Beyond Blue, the Country Women's Association, the Red Cross, the Southern Midlands Council and farmers themselves are hoping to develop strategies to ease the problems.
They're encouraging those who need help to access it and want them to be able to do so easily.
