We need your help to prevent the loss of a vital peer-to-peer national helpline for Australian women and their families.

PANDA has embarked on a campaign to ensure that the newly-elected Labor Federal Government approves funding for PANDA to expand its Victorian helpline to a dedicated national helpline for Australian women and their families who need antenatal and postnatal depression counselling, support and referral.

Women suffering from antenatal and postnatal depression struggle to speak up and ask for help, often living with traumatic and destructive impacts for far too long. PANDA’s unique peer-to-peer support model (women speaking to other highly skilled and trained women who have recovered from antenatal and postnatal depression) is crucial to reducing stigma, to getting women to speak up and access medical and support services so that they can genuinely start their journey of recovery.

Antenatal and postnatal depression are very serious mental illnesses but they also impact on the journey to becoming parents, the beginning of families and the lives of babies and children – the peer-to-peer support model alone can truly recognise and support this journey.

PANDA is the only peer-to-peer support helpline operating in Victoria for women suffering from antenatal and postnatal depression. In 2007 the Federal Department of Health and Ageing (DOHA) extensively researched and recommended that the unique and highly successful peer-to-peer support model operated by PANDA’s helpline is national best practice for women suffering from antenatal and postnatal depression.

Despite PANDA's submission, as sole tenderer, of the blueprint for a fully costed and resourced national postnatal depression helpline that met all DOHA requirements and proposed to commence in January 2008, the recommendation was not implemented by the then Liberal Government.

PANDA is asking the new Health Minister The Hon. Nicola Roxon to put PANDA’s national helpline back on the Government's agenda and to finalise the funding process. Our campaign is focused on achieving a national solution for women and their families affected by antenatal and postnatal depression.

If our appeal to the Rudd Government falls on deaf ears, the following may unfold:

• Vital funds will be spent on an alternative general telehealth or medical helpline a model that will not meet women's needs for a peer-to-peer helpline.
• A telehealth or medical health helpline approach will fail to reduce stigma around antenatal and postnatal depression.
• Implementation timelines for a dedicated national peer-to-peer helpline will blow out much further than the January 2008 deadline, which has elapsed.
• An alternate provider will not have a 24 year history of experience, practice, research and expertise of working one-on-one with women and their families.
• The future of PANDA would be questioned if the current Victorian helpline is replaced by a general telehealth or medical helpline national service, resulting in a loss of expertise and knowledge of people affected by antenatal and postnatal depression.

What can you do to help prevent the loss of a vital peer to peer national helpline for Australian women and their families? We are asking you and your family and friends to sign a letter of support that we have prepared. You need only to print it out by
clicking here and then send it to PANDA for us to forward to Health Minister Nicola Roxon. We would appreciate you doing this as soon as possible.

Please contact PANDA if you would liker to discuss these issues further.

Many thanks for your support in this important campaign to ensure that Australian women and their families will benefit from PANDA’s dedicated and highly successful peer-to-peer helpline.

Christine Greenhatch
PANDA Chairperson