This article originally appeared in The Herald Sun and has been republished with permission.
A grieving young mother-to-be devastated by the loss of her brother and then her partner within weeks of each other has been waiting four months for a psychologist appointment in Cairns’ strained mental health system.
Cairns woman Kiarna Effrett, 20, first sought a psychologist’s appointment after the death of her eldest brother Joshua Effrett, who died from a drug overdose at the age of 22 in February.
“I had always suffered with anxiety, but after my brother died it completely spiraled out of control,” Ms Effrett said.
“I was throwing up constantly, my GP referred me to a psychologist because I couldn’t keep any food down and I was losing weight rapidly. It was awful.”
Just days after seeing her GP, Ms Effrett discovered she was pregnant.
“In some way the pregnancy became the light at the end of the tunnel in the darkness of my brother’s death,” Ms Effrett said.
“Me, (my partner) Jayden and my family were so excited to welcome bub.”
But on April 29, just two months after the passing of her brother and four weeks after discovering her pregnancy, Ms Effrett’s partner, Jayden Flanagan, died in a tragic workplace accident at the age of 23.
“Jayden had his own tree-lopping business and he was about 14 metres up in a tree,” Ms Effrett said.
“It was a dead tree and the trunk of it just snapped. He fell with it and passed away on impact.
“It’s currently being investigated by Work Health and Safety. All of his safety lines were attached and intact, so we’re still not sure how it happened.
“I’ll never be the same. How am I meant to explain to my baby that you lost your uncle and your dad before you were even born?”
After the two heartbreaking losses, Ms Effrett’s mother, Marion Jazvic, 45, relocated herself and her three other children from Brisbane to Cairns to be with her grieving daughter.
“It’s devastating. Jayden just fit into our family and he was so excited about bub,” Ms Jazvic said.
“To lose both of them has been absolutely traumatising for us. It was a no-brainer that I would move up here to be with Kiarna.
“But there’s also the extreme financial stress. I had to take out a loan to finance my son’s funeral, the move from Brisbane to Cairns and prep for bub.”
Amidst overwhelming grief and the anticipation of motherhood, Ms Effrett has been waiting for more than three months to see a psychologist, after first being referred by her GP on March 25.
“Because I haven’t been able to get treatment I’ve just been trying to drown myself in baby preparation to cope,” Ms Effrett said.
“I know that the more stressed I am, then obviously that stresses out the baby.
“So I’m trying to not think about myself too much, but focus on helping my baby.”
There are 170 full-time or equivalent psychologists working in the Cairns LGA, according to the Australian Psychological Society (APS).
“We know that the ratio of full-time psychologists to population is about 1 to 1031 in Cairns,” APS president Dr Sara Quinn said.
“It’s actually slightly better than the Queensland average, which is about 1 to 1097, but it’s still a major issue.”
Kevin Colahan, who has worked as a psychologist in Cairns for 30 years, said wait times have ballooned in the past decade.
“The number of referrals coming through has steadily increased, while the availability of psychologists continues to be a problem,” Mr Colahan said.
“We’ll get 10 to 15 referrals here a week, and we just don’t have the capacity to see those people quickly.
“I know that clients are ringing around to other practices, and they’re having the same experience, they just can’t get in anywhere in Cairns without waiting for two or three months for an appointment.
“This issue is not just in Cairns, it’s in almost every regional city in Australia.”
Mr Colahan said extended wait times could exacerbate a client’s psychological issues.
“If a client has been waiting for more than three months, often the problem has become more entrenched and then it’s harder to treat,” Mr Colahan said.
“That’s certainly concerning for clients who are at risk of suicide and self-harm.”
Mr Colhan said increasing the Medicare rebate for a psychologist appointment and boosting the availability of government mental health services were crucial to improving wait times.
“Typically I charge $195 per session and the client gets a little over $90 in rebate from Medicare,” Mr Colahan said.
“There are clients who just simply can’t afford to pay that gap fee, so that’s a barrier.
“But this is not going to improve until there are more mental health services available for clients in Cairns.”
Federal Health Minister Mark Butler said the federal government was “committed” to easing access to a psychologist in regional cities.
“We will expand GP bulk billing incentives for mental health consultations to all Australians and create an additional new incentive payment for practices that bulk bill every patient,” Mr Butler said.
“This investment boosts Medicare payments for mental health plans and consultations with a GP.
“We are establishing 61 Medicare mental health centres, including a centre in Cairns, where people can walk in and get free support that is confidential, safe and inclusive from social workers, mental health nurses, peer workers, psychologists and psychiatrists.”
While Ms Effrett continues to wait for crucial mental health support, her aunt Mel Brandenburg has launched a GoFundMe to help the grieving mother-to-be prepare for her baby without the support of her partner.
“All we can do is take it one day at a time,” Ms Effrett said.