Report review: Not for service: experiences of injustice and despair in mental health care in Australia

Abstract

IT IS ONLY BY EXAMINING the impact of public policies on the lives of people that we can begin to assess the success or failure of those policies. With this as a starting point, Not for service presents an extensive (just over 1000 pages) and balanced picture of the impact of policies on the lives of people with mental illness and their families and friends. The authors take care to state that their research is not a rigorous examination of the extent to which the National Standards for Mental Health Services have been implemented, but do observe that the ?volume and consistency of the information demonstrate the gaps and difficulties governments have had in meeting these standards? (p 14). The report is lengthy, but is well laid out and ?easy? to read, although the content will leave any reader feeling uneasy about the current state of our mental health system. There is also a shorter (96 page) summary report available.