Hundreds of new Interdisciplinary Mental Health Networks established
Since its inception in October 2008, the Mental Health Professionals Network (MHPN) has rolled out almost 1,200 interdisciplinary mental health workshops to over 15,000 clinicians working in primary mental healthcare across Australia.
Workshops were designed to bring together mental health clinicians working at a local level to discuss the skills and resources available in order to identify new referral pathways and a collaborative approach to treatment in the primary care setting. A case study was chosen from a suite of 12 for each workshop whereby clinicians were asked to explore how each profession could contribute to the patient’s care under the Better Access to Psychiatrists, Psychologists and General Practitioners through the Medicare Schedule (Better Access) initiative.
Over 15,000 clinicians participated in 1,169 workshops delivered across metropolitan, regional, rural and remote locations across all state and territories of Australia, including locations as diverse as Nhulunbuy in North East Arnhem Land, Northern Territory, Kununarra in the Kimberley, Western Australia, Kangaroo Island in South Australia through to Huonville in Southern Tasmania.
Workshops were predominantly location-based, however a proportion were also delivered according to special interests including Indigenous, child and adolescent, perinatal, CALD, dual diagnosis and dual disability, eating disorders and aged psychiatry.
Whilst the workshop experiences varied from place to place depending on the mix of professionals attending, the issues of the local landscape and the facilities on offer, essentially the same formula was used for all workshops. And the feedback was overwhelmingly positive about the experiences of attendees.
The project succeeded in attracting an interdisciplinary mix of mental health professionals. Psychologists were the most highly represented professional discipline at workshops, representing over 40% of attendees, followed by general practitioners, mental health nurses and social workers. Critical to the project’s success was the engagement of general practitioners who act as the gatekeepers to the Better Access mental health treatment plans. On average three to four general practitioners attended each workshop where the overall average number of workshop participants was 13.
Whilst workshop participants primarily consisted of private practitioners eligible to provide services under Better Access, approximately 10 percent of total participants were from other professions involved in mental health. This was more prevalent in rural and remote areas where the strengthening of the interface between private and public services is integral to the provision of quality care.
Each workshop was facilitated by a local mental health professional recruited and supported by MHPN. Almost half of all workshops were facilitated by psychologists. Interestingly psychiatrists, whilst relatively small in numbers (approximately 500 attended), had the largest proportion of facilitators (around 30%) compared to the other professions.
The success of the workshop phase of the project has already led to the establishment of 466 interdisciplinary networks, with more networks still emerging. MHPN continues to support these networks with administrative and financial support. In addition, MHPN supports mental health practitioners with an interactive website incorporating opportunities to keep in contact, share resources and access useful information about areas of interest in mental health.
MHPN is funded by the Commonwealth Government Department of Health and Ageing until the end of 2010 and is seeking an extension based on these excellent results.
The Mental Health Professionals Network (MHPN) project is governed by a board of directors from four member organizations: The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners, Australian Psychological Society, The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists and the Australian College of Mental Health Nurses. The project also involves three partner organizations: the Australian Association of Social Workers, OT AUSTRALIA and The Royal Australasian College of Physicians.
For more information:
www.mhpn.org.au
Tel: 1800 209 031
Email: contactus@mhpn.org.au
Other News
Reaching out in Nhulunbuy (May 2010) [read more]
Psychiatrists lead interdisciplinary mental health care (March 2010) [read more]
MHPN goes beyond blue (February 2010) [read more]
Networks flourish for Newcastle mental health (November 2009) [read more]
Stone paves the way for Frankston MHPN network (November 2009)[read more]
Bayside GPs grow network with MHPN support (October 2009) [read more]
Funds to help ongoing networks (September 2009) [read more]
Sutherland Succeeds in Mental Health Networking, August 2009 [read more]
Stirfry Unites Aboriginal Community and Mental Health Services, July 2009 [read more]
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