Mental health system 'a shemozzle'

An adviser to the former Labor government on mental health says care in the sector is a shemozzle, which is costing lives.

Professor John Mendoza, chairman of the national advisory council on mental health under prime minister Kevin Rudd, says he has a fire in his belly like never before.

"This cannot go on. We cannot have this differential healthcare system that says `you get great care if you have cancer, you get the world's best care with cardiovascular but you get crap care, if you can find it, if you have a mental health condition'," he told ABC television on Tuesday night.

The issue, Professor Mendoza says, is personal.

His nephew Jeff took his own life last year, a day after being discharged from Gold Coast University Hospital where he'd been admitted for an urgent mental health assessment.

He said a dog hit by a car would receive a higher standard of care.

"I have no doubt today that if he was afforded better care on that occasion back in November last year, he'd be here today," he said.

"We have a shemozzle and the shemozzle has to end because it is costing lives, it's costing our nation dearly."

In opposition, the coalition promised a priority review of mental health services.

That's now been completed and handed to the government but not actually released. However, parts have been leaked.

It says the mental health system is a collection of often unco-ordinated services introduced on an ad-hoc basis.

As well, the National Mental Health Commission found there was no agreed way to measure whether almost $10 billion in commonwealth funding was leading to effective outcomes or improving lives.

The system needed to focus on the needs of users rather than producers by redirecting funding to services such as prevention and early intervention, recovery-based community support, stable housing and participation in employment, education and training, it recommended.