Senior police officers are reporting they are being called out to attempted self-harm incidents up to once a shift - there are three shifts a day.

There are reports calls to beyondblue are currently up 77 per cent and the number of mental health plans being put in place by doctors are up about 30 per cent.

Much of the increase is attributed to the severe lockdowns and restrictions imposed by the State Government under the direction of the chief health officer to control COVID-19.

Warrnambool police Inspector Paul Marshall said people were fatigued with the lockdowns and restrictions.

He said non-family member assaults had increased on police members, ambulance officers, carers and clinicians.

"We are putting it down to fatigue, people losing tolerance," he said.

"We are seeing more mental health calls and that's an important part of our role.

"The key message is that no matter who puts their hand for help we will be there.

"We are all in the same boat. All the services are trying to support those vulnerable, those disadvantaged in the community.

"We're just asking people don't take out their frustration on those trying to help."

South West Healthcare Mental Health Services interim executive director Jodi Bateman said her service had experienced increased referrals to its community-based teams during the pandemic.

"This is a sign that there's an increasing level of distress in the community," she said.

"The number of admissions to our adult acute inpatient unit per month has remained relatively stable throughout the year, however there's a clear trend towards people needing to stay in this unit a day or two longer, which could indicate difficulty accessing community supports because COVID has forced services to close or go online."

Ms Bateman said the number of referrals her teams had received from emergency departments and police across the south-west region had been fairly consistent throughout 2020 and comparable with 2019 numbers.

"There's also been no significant change in the number of admissions which have originated from police or emergency department referrals. Per quarter, these referrals continue to be between 20 and 30," she said.

"This global pandemic has enormously impacted, stressed and tested all parts of our community, especially health and emergency services.

"We would like to acknowledge and give heartfelt thanks to Victoria Police and all the other first responders for the vital role they play in supporting the safety of our communities, and especially in these most distressing times."

If you, or someone you know is in immediate danger, please call 000, visit your nearest hospital emergency department or use any of these crisis helplines:

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