Out of crisis mode: how digital mental health can help

The recent wave of New South Wales psychiatrist resignations underscores an urgent need for systemic reform — a telehealth professional sets out how digital mental health services can help.

Australia’s mental health sector is at a critical juncture. A 2014 report by The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP) indicates that one-third (33%) of Australian psychiatrists are considering leaving the profession within the next few years, with early career professionals increasingly following suit. The recent mass resignations within NSW Health have further highlighted the mounting pressure on public mental health services. As hospitals and healthcare teams struggle to fill these gaps, the strain on remaining professionals — particularly allied health workers — has become overwhelming.

While the challenges in the mental health sector are complex, one of the most promising solutions is the integration of online mental health services. Telehealth platforms, already proven to be effective in rural and underserved areas, hold the potential to transform care delivery across Australia. These digital solutions go beyond simply providing psychiatric services to enhance how allied health professionals, such as psychologists, social workers and occupational therapists, collaborate to deliver holistic, patient-centred care. By embracing digital tools, Australia can create a more sustainable, efficient and flexible mental healthcare system.

The psychiatrist shortage: a crisis for mental health care

The shortage of psychiatrists is not just a concern for patients, it has far-reaching consequences that ripple across the entire healthcare system. As demand for mental health services continues to outpace the supply of trained professionals, other areas of the system are being forced to shoulder the burden. Emergency departments (EDs) are seeing an influx of mental health cases, for example, often with patients experiencing crises that could have been managed earlier with appropriate psychiatric intervention. Without sufficient specialist support, ED staff must triage and manage complex mental health conditions alongside physical emergencies, leading to increased wait times, burnout and suboptimal patient outcomes.

General practitioners (GPs), already stretched thin, are being relied upon as frontline mental health providers, despite not having the specialised training or resources to handle severe psychiatric conditions. With patients currently facing long waitlists for psychiatric referrals, this leaves GPs to manage cases that require expert intervention, often with limited treatment options and time constraints. Meanwhile, allied health professionals, including psychologists, social workers and mental health nurses, are also feeling the pressure. While they play a crucial role in mental health care, they often lack direct access to psychiatric consultation, making it difficult to coordinate comprehensive treatment plans. This leads to fragmented care, where patients may receive therapy or counselling but struggle to access necessary medication management or psychiatric evaluation.

The result is a reactive and disjointed system, where mental health care is provided in crisis mode rather than through proactive, continuous support. Without urgent action within psychiatric workforce development, training and retention, these pressures will only intensify, exacerbating wait times, increasing hospital admissions and ultimately placing further strain on an already overstretched healthcare system. With more than half (58%) of Australian psychiatrists citing sustainable work hours as key to job retention and nearly four in five (80%) emphasising the importance of adequate staffing, according to the 2024 RANZCP report, it’s clear that the current model is unsustainable.

This is where telehealth can step in. Online platforms allow psychiatrists to work flexibly while expanding access to care in underserved areas. However, beyond just psychiatry, digital mental health services can significantly benefit allied health professionals by improving collaboration, reducing workload pressures and enhancing patient outcomes.

How online mental health services can support allied health professionals

Allied health professionals play an integral role in Australia’s mental health landscape. However, with increasing patient loads and resource shortages, they are finding themselves overstretched. Digital mental health services offer tangible solutions, including:

1. Enhancing multidisciplinary collaboration

One of the biggest advantages of online mental health services is the ability to facilitate real-time collaboration between psychiatrists and allied health professionals. Rural and regional clinics can lack immediate access to psychiatric expertise, delaying treatment and worsening patient outcomes. Digital platforms enable allied health professionals to consult psychiatrists remotely, ensuring a more coordinated and efficient approach to care. For example, a psychologist in a rural community health clinic can use telehealth to consult a psychiatrist regarding a complex patient case, allowing for timely interventions without requiring patients to travel long distances.

2. Reducing wait times and preventing escalation

Long wait times for psychiatric assessments can lead to patients deteriorating while awaiting care, leaving allied health professionals managing complex cases without the necessary psychiatric oversight. By expanding telehealth access, allied health workers can refer patients for quicker psychiatric consultations, ensuring early intervention and preventing mental health conditions from escalating to crisis levels.

3. Providing training and supervision opportunities

The psychiatrist shortage has also affected training pathways for early career mental health professionals. With fewer senior psychiatrists available for supervision, trainees can sometimes lack the guidance they need. Telehealth platforms can address this by facilitating remote supervision, allowing psychiatrists to mentor psychologists, social workers and occupational therapists across different regions. Additionally, online platforms can offer professional development modules tailored for allied health workers, ensuring they stay updated on best practices in mental health care.

4. Improving workforce retention through flexibility

Telehealth benefits not only psychiatrists but also allied health professionals by alleviating workload pressures. Social workers, psychologists and occupational therapists often manage high caseloads with limited psychiatric support, leading to burnout. Digital mental health services allow for shared patient management, helping distribute the workload more effectively. This results in improved job satisfaction and better patient outcomes.

Several Australian healthcare organisations have successfully integrated telepsychiatry services, leading to reduced ED wait times for mental health patients and more efficient resource utilisation. For instance, the Western Australia Country Health Service’s Mental Health Emergency Telehealth Service provides 24/7 access to specialist mental health nurses and psychiatrists via telehealth. This service supports local clinicians in managing mental health crises, potentially reducing the time patients spend in EDs and expediting access to appropriate care.

A study published in 2022 in International Journal of Mental Health Systems evaluating telehealth service delivery in a regional Australian mental health provider during the COVID-19 pandemic found that telehealth, encompassing both telephone and videoconferencing, effectively worked in place of face-to-face consultations. This transition maintained service accessibility and was well-received by both clinicians and patients, demonstrating the feasibility and acceptance of telehealth in routine mental health care.

Despite such initiatives, challenges persist. The 2024 Australian Medical Association Public Hospital Report Card highlighted that, on average, mental health patients in Australian public hospitals spent seven hours in EDs before being admitted, with one in 10 (10%) waiting more than 23 hours. These findings underscore the need for continued investment in digital mental health solutions to enhance system efficiency and ensure timely, coordinated and effective patient care.

Integrating online mental health services into Australia’s healthcare system

To fully realise the benefits of online mental health services, healthcare administrators and policymakers must prioritise their integration into existing systems. Key actions include:

• establishing streamlined referral pathways between hospitals, community health services and telehealth providers, ensuring seamless patient care;
• expanding funding models to support multidisciplinary collaboration, including Medicare rebates for telepsychiatry consultations involving allied health professionals;
• providing ongoing training for hospital and aged care staff on leveraging digital mental health platforms to enhance patient care.
   

The recent wave of psychiatrist resignations in New South Wales has underscored the urgent need for systemic reform. While workforce shortages pose significant challenges, digital mental health services offer a viable and scalable solution. By leveraging telehealth, Australia can not only retain its mental health workforce but also empower allied health professionals to provide high-quality, collaborative care.

Such flexibility, with options for both telehealth and face-to-face appointments, enables a work model that allows psychiatrists to choose where and how they work, helping to bridge the gap in mental health care for regional and rural areas. With most psychiatrists concentrated in major cities (according to 2024 research in the Australian Journal of Rural Health), telehealth enables psychiatrists to address this imbalance by living and working in locations of their choosing, while still providing vital care to underserved communities.

As hospitals, aged care providers and community health organisations navigate these challenges, the need to embrace digital tools has never been clearer. The future of mental health care in Australia depends on innovation, collaboration and a commitment to building a sustainable, well-supported workforce — one that can continue delivering essential services to those who need them most.

*Sarah Richardson is Chief Executive Officer of HealthBright.

Top image credit: iStock.com/YakobchukOlena