Evidence or ideology? Let the Debate Continue … More evaluation please!

Abstract

Evidence or ideology? This was the question posed by Allison et al. (2015) regarding the basis for the National Mental Health Commission’s recommendation to transfer AUD1 billion from acute to community sectors, a position eschewed by Minister Ley upon the leaking of the Commission’s Report (Ley, 2015). Allison and colleagues concluded that further psychiatric bed closures were not a defensible option, implicitly suggesting that the Commission’s primary driver was ideological. The position of Allison and colleagues was based on (a) The level and breadth of evidence utilised in the determination of the Commission’s recommendations, the Commission’s position being based on KPMG modelling of 7 ‘optimal care’ scenarios heavily reliant on expert opinion; (b) Low mental health bed numbers in Australia relative to other Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries; (c) The example of the impact of acute bed closures on Emergency Department (ED) presentations in South Australia.