A bishop and several other people have been stabbed during a sermon in Sydney that was being streamed online, local media report.
The incident reportedly happened on Monday night in the suburb of Wakeley.
Police responded to reports that a number of people had been stabbed but said none of their injuries were life-threatening.
They added that a man had been arrested and was assisting them with their inquiries.
It was not immediately clear what weapon was used in the attack, which is reported to have happened at the Christ The Good Shepherd Church.
Australian healthcare is actually pretty amazing. I had endocarditis last year and had two collapsed lungs with my blood oxygen plummeting and no clear reason for the infection. The bacteria ate one of my heart valves so my heart had to do 4 pumps to have the effect of one, pushing my heart rate up to around 140 bpm while sleeping. I was flown from my regional town to the best hospital for the job and had an emergency valve replacement. I was up and walking 2 days later and I was flown home a couple of weeks later. I now take Warfarin and will for the rest of my life, along with a beta blocker. My biggest healthcare costs involved with this whole thing is my monthly medication cost of about $30 from 5 prescriptions including ADHD medications.
That all said, mental health care is not as good here as it used to be nor as it should be. We had a conservative government for 12 years and they absolutely gutted the mental health care system. They cut funding for extremely effective programs and did some real harm to vulnerable people (if interested look up robodebt). So yes, mental health is not great here. It is way better than in the US or in the UK but it is not in line with best practice research.
The fact that we can do better does not eliminate how we we do. I didn’t die from something that should have killed me, and this is the second time I have had a really major injury that required surgeries and so on. Well, third technically. Still, I have never paid a cent at the time of use for any medical care and I have paid for the medical care of others with my taxes. Am I coming out ahead of my costs? I hope not to be honest. I hope I have contributed more than I have cost the system because I care what happens to other people. I hope I have paid my way but I will be sure to honestly file my taxes every year knowing the system I am paying in to is the same one that has saved my life. Again. Man I am stupid.
Thank you for the writeup! Your second paragraph really sucks to hear tho.
Its wild cuz here in USA feels like we are being mass prescribed anti anxiety meds/SSRIs/etc as of late, but its the rest of the care thats hard to get for a lot of people.
Yeah, meds are not the solution to all problems. Some meds can at some times be useful for some people, but it is not appropriate to just blanket the population with benzodiazapines and consider the population to be mentally healthier. All sort of other stuff like improving social connection, reducing working hours, building skills, and so on can do a lot more to reduce anxiety and depression, but where is the funding for a local community garden or woodworking class?
Indeed. Id rather people have job security and feel good about the climate instead of wanting/needing pharmaceuticals to feel in a “positive” state.
Mental work is hard, and a proper therapist can do wonders! I realize now how I focused on the meds side, and I really do hope our peoples can find a way to improve society AROUND the systems in place designed to not give a fuck.