QMHC Submission to the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety, March 2020

Healthy ageing is intrinsically linked to good mental health. Although the majority of older people do experience good mental health, more than nine per cent experience mental illness and almost 11 per cent experience a high level of psychological distress, including depression or anxiety.

Common risk factors and causes of older people developing mental health conditions such as depression and anxiety include chronic physical illness, grief and loss, financial stress, changed living arrangements, decreased social networks and increased social isolation.

In this submission, the Commission touches on:

• access to mental health services
• suicide prevention as a priority for older people
• physical health and mental health
• mental health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
• mental health of the LGBTI community
• the aged care workforce
• younger people with a disability living in residential aged care
• restrictive practices
• Queensland Human Rights Act 2019, and 
• Lived experience-led reform