I have just returned from a two day First Aid for Mental Health Course and have also been talking to a Pharmacist to try a get a bit of a picture of what is the situation in rural areas in treating and caring for people with Mental Health issues. At the Course, I realised that there is at least 3% of the population who are suffering from some form of mental illness – from anxiety disorders to psychosis and of course those affected by substance abuse. There is really no “from this to that” in labelling, for all interfer in the day to day functioning in one’s life. The question arose about treatment. In most rural towns, if they are lucky to have one, the doctor is the first line of defence. For those who are going to require medication, rather than or in addition to psychological or counselling, attempts to get to a psychiatrist is a long drawn out affair- even up to 4 months, and then there is a need for constant monitoring to get the medications correct for the individual. This involves many trips to the city usually, and possibly staying there for a while – and can be prohibitive for some. To criticise a doctor for “handing out pills” is I feel unfair as they are trying to keep people in a holding pattern until something can be done to complete the treatment. Added to this is the need to further monitor the chronic patients – more trips to the city, as few psychiatrists are available in rural areas. 

The pharmacist informed me that the drugs for mental health are under the same criteria as other drugs – $5/ month for any sort of pension, social services etc, and a bit over $30 for the rest. many of these are subsidised in part by the government already. He felt that ove 50% of patients do not take their medication properly, and some use the cost as an “excuse” along with many other reasons they could come up with to deny their illness. He stated that all our medical systems are designed for the acute care and not for the support and chronic care. This is evident in the fact that subscriptions for these medicationa are handed out for 5 repeats – or 6 months’ worth, so people are not required to present to their doctor or specialist to be re-assessed, and perhaps either taken off the drug (a scary thing for people) or have adjustments made.

I would be interested in your comments or experiences in this field. I am sure it is a whole society problem, not just a rural one, but the rural perspective is valued.

I also hope that Obama gets in for all the reasons above. On a selfish note, I am concerned about the democrats tendancy to subsidise their farmers to the hilt – something that was beginning to change with a lot of effort, but that is really all I have against the Democrats. Also heard a comment that both Barack and Sarah Palin were rarely asked the hard questions by the media – as the media was too fearful to be seen as racist or sexist. I have not been close enough to the election to know if this is true – but it is something that could be a problem in the future – either way. Finally, with all its faults I am still glad Australians have compulsory voting. This business of having to spend billions just to encourage people to register and elections that can be won or lost by how may of your supporters actually get out there and vote – just leaves me cold. That is why McCain is still hopeful as he know Republicans are more likely to vote on the day than Democrats. Even if half of the Australian voters don’t really think about it much, they do actually have to get out there and put pen to paper.

I believe that Millthorpe is having a very important event on 8th November 2008. There is a Dedication of a Memorial for Returned Service Men and Women from Millthorpe and Districts.  I wish them well on the day.  How do I know? Well, even though I live in Rural Western Australia, my father was a farmer in Millthorpe NSW and with his two brothers joined the armed forces in WW2. So his name is included on the Memorial wall. Fortunately I have a cousin who could tell me about it. It really is a small world as I became involved with Ourpatch without even knowing that it originated from my home district. I would love to hear from Millthorpe as to how the day went!

Perhaps I am just an old fashioned teacher, but all I can do is rejoice in the news that grammar and spelling and facts in history are coming back into the Education of your children.

As a Primary teacher -now relief teacher only, I have always been stunned by the idea of writing freely without returning to the work to fix up the grammar. Certainly there is a place for allowing the thoughts to flow – but when it comes down to it, the written word is a tool whereby we are meant to communicate to others and if certain rules of grammar are not followed all meaning is lost. e.e.cummings is one thing. Billy Jones in the classroom or Joe Smith in in our newspapers are another thing entirely. I have to admit, throughout my teaching I have always had a red pen in my hand when reading children’s stories – perhaps not fixing everything for little children, but certainly fixing what I know they should know.

In history, while I believe that there is a need to discuss the whys and the different points of view on history – ie not just the story of the victors, I have been very concerned that dates and events have been made less important. Placing an event in its time frame and in context to other events that were occuring at the same time helps not hinders the WHY process.  The January 26th ad is not that far from the truth, unfortunately. But that date needs to be understood to understand why in our era we needed to apologise to the Aboriginal people in Canberra. Everything connects – and facts of the past are part of it.

Recently we lost an elderly aunt. Without immediate family close-by, it was another’s role to be executor.We trust her completely, however, she has made things difficult for herself and we have learnt some important lessons in the processes that have followed. 1. If the deceased has written a funeral service plan, show it to interested family before the funeral so they can happily follow the wishes, and not be wondering what will happen next. 2. If the deceased has written a list of who gets what – make sure family sees the list and if there are any valuables not on the list – make another list so they can see what is left to discuss- especially any valuables such as old family rings! . (Preferably ensure that family knows before the person dies!) 3. Make sure you get family together asap to read the will and tell them how you will proceed. Basically don’t keep people guessing – because that will only cause people to start being suspicious of your role. 4. Answer questions openly, not with comments about “I am doing what is wished for and you don’t need to know.” And for the rest of us: remember to tell your family your wishes where possible – often we don’t ask because we don’t like to sound like we are digging for an inheritance or wishing them dead!. Also tell your kids what is in your will – especially if it varies from what is expected, so they know what you were thinking when you wrote it. Do you have other “rules” to add to this from your experiences? Afterall – it is much nicer remembering the person as we would like and not worrying about materials and processes.