We already have a situation when the Southern Highlands Division of General Practice can determine who should (or should not) be recruited to provide mental health services to those patients with a diagnosed mental illness. This has already been demonstrated with the Better Outcomes for Mental Health initiative (BOMHi) and the Mental Health Nurse Incentive Program (MHNIP) which were both funded by Medicare Australia. The funds for the BOMHi program are held by the Division and are used to pay for patients of GPs to have sessions with private psychologists. Those psychologists selected for the program will tell you that invariably the money "ran out" before the end of the grant period.
In the case of the MHNIP, the Division endeavoured to divert patients from the GP practices to the RN they had recruited to run the program from their Division's rooms. Eventually, they had to cease that activity due to the fact that their RN did not gain the necessary accreditation to be able to carry out the functions required. From all reports, the Division then did nothing to support the implementation and extension of the program among their GP members and so, a useful and viable mental health service that could have been of benefit to many, has withered away.
15th April 2011
By: Australian Doctor
The money will allow the new organisations being rolled out from July this year to buy bundles of services to support people in the community and keep them out of hospital.
Clinical services will include therapy from psychologists and social workers who, according to the Federal Government, will be "encouraged to link patients to other services in the community for people with severe illness".
The move follows national consultation on the funding plan.
The government claimed there was strong support from GPs, who will be central to "supporting and finding referral pathways" to other services.
The first 15 Medicare Locals will be eligible to access the funding.
AGPN CEO David Butt said the timing of the pledge was "a glimpse into the government’s vision" for primary mental health services.
"It’s encouraging to have these flexible care packages available to the first 15 Medicare Locals and indicative of a government that wants to see a fundamental change in the delivery of mental health services, in which there is a shift towards the primary healthcare sector rather than a reliance upon the acute sector.
"These packages will also enable interventions at different levels of intensity.
Depending on the patient’s needs, the care may need to step up’ to more intensive interventions, such as specialist care with a psychiatrist or psychologist, or the care may step down’ to services like community connectedness programs." Paul Smith
