Summary: The right to health includes the right to mental health. Mental ill health is a subject which features more in the media today than it did some years ago. This should be a good thing. But in the case of mental ill health, the major thrust of the coverage deals with the chronic under-resourcing of this area. There are few - if any - Australians better qualified to discuss this topic than Professor Pat McGorry, who was named Australian of the year in 2009, and has devoted his time in that position to raising the profile of mental ill health issues. Specialising in mental health reform, he is a professor of youth mental health at the University of Melbourne and Executive Director of the Origin Research Centre. He has authored more than 250 articles, five books, and over 40 book chapters in this area. In this instalment of PodRights, Professor McGorry talks to Disability and race Discrimination Commissioner, Graeme Innes, about the challenges faced by the mental ill health system in Australia today.
