The petition of residents of the State of Queensland draws to the attention of the House the lack of sufficient mental health facilities in the Fraser Coast region.

There are currently 26 mental health inpatient beds in the Wide Bay Hospital and Health Services area. The Queensland Health Plan 2007 - 2017 (2008 p 21) recommends 40 mental health inpatient beds per 100,000 total population. In 2011, the estimates resident population of the Wide Bay Hospital and Health Services area was 199,496 (Queensland Treasury and Trade, 2012 p 3). Therefore this region is under target (by 54 beds) for meeting current community needs for mental health inpatient care. According to predications by the Department of Local Government and Planning (2011 pp 120-127) the Wide Bay regional population could be as high as 317,900 by 2031.

Your petitioners, therefore, request the House to urge the Minister for Health to seek to source operational funding so that vital plans to meet community needs for inpatient beds in the Wide Bay Hospital and Health Services Area can proceed.