Right now on the Northern Gold Coast, when someone experiences a mental health crisis, families often have only one option.

Sit in a hospital emergency department and wait.

Emergency departments were never designed to provide dedicated mental health care. Yet across our region they have become the default place people go when there is nowhere else.

For communities like Coomera, Pimpama and Ormeau, there is still no local urgent mental health care service despite the region being one of the fastest growing areas in Queensland.

When a person is in distress, waiting weeks for appointments or travelling long distances for support is not realistic.

An Urgent Medicare Mental Health Care Centre would allow people to walk in and receive immediate support from trained mental health professionals without needing to attend a hospital emergency department.

These centres already exist in other parts of Australia and are proving to be an essential part of modern mental health systems.

The Northern Gold Coast deserves the same access to care.

The population across the Northern Gold Coast continues to grow rapidly.

Yet mental health infrastructure has not kept pace with that growth.

Families, young people and individuals experiencing crisis need access to support in their own community.

Placing a Medicare Mental Health Centre in the Northern Gold Coast would improve early access to care and reduce pressure on hospital emergency departments.

We are calling on the Gold Coast Primary Health Network and relevant decision makers to prioritise the Northern Gold Coast when determining the location of a new Medicare Mental Health Centre.

Our communities deserve timely access to mental health care close to home.

Sign this petition to show support for improved mental health services in the Northern Gold Coast.