Under the funding arrangement five rural clinics will gain access to WiFi - Swan Hill and Echuca in the north and Castlemaine, Kyneton and Maryborough in the southern reaches of the catchment area.

Clinical Director of Mental Health Services at Bendigo Health Associate Professor Philip Tune said each clinic provided community-based mental health services right across the age spectrum for a whole range of serious mental health illnesses and conditions.

The Victorian government's $838,000 package announced today will go towards capital upgrades to maximise telehealth capacity for providing mental health services at the clinics .

In addition to providing WiFi in rural centres and refreshing community facilities, laptops will replace the desktop computers for community-based clinicians enabling a greater capacity for remote work.

Associate Professor Tune said people had responded very favourably to telehealth and remote consultation in a way that had surprised him.

"It's a key part of our infrastructure and our catchment is more than 37,000 square kilometres, which to give that some context is just a little bit smaller than Switzerland," he said.

"Even with the five clinics throughout the region, staff are still sometimes having to drive for an hour, each way, to see one patient face-to-face so to be able to do that remotely or to supplement that face-to-face consultation with a remote consultation is obviously far more efficient for staff time."

Associate professor Tune said most in the catchment region had internet access but the hospital could assist where there were difficulties.

"Most people have internet access, but there are some particular people because of their circumstances and some parts of our catchment that are not as well served," he said.

"We have been able to provide them with a dongle that gives them internet access and a device at times so there are ways around that."

Associate Professor Tune said the five clinics were crucial to delivering mental health services to those who need it.

"They will provide follow up for people who've been in our inpatient units, for example, or who have been in hospital, or provide treatment and assessment for people who remain in the community and don't need to be hospitalised," he said.

"It's (telehealth) something we've discovered that we can do, in fact, much better than I thought we could."

Associate Professor Tune said most patients had done remarkably well throughout COVID-19, but young people were the exception resulting in a growth in demand for that age group.

The government says the funding is part of its response to the recommendations from the Royal Commission into Victoria's Mental Health System to reform, modernise, build service capacity and provide better models of care for Victorians experiencing mental ill health.

Member for East Bendigo Jacinta Allan said the government was working with the sector to deliver the biggest mental health reform in Victoria's history.

"A large part of this is ensuring that people in my community can access local mental health care, when they need it," she said.

If you or someone you know needs support, contact Lifeline on 13 11 14.

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