Historical context

Mental Health Professionals Network has been contracted to roll out collaborative workshops across Australia and began operations in August 2008. The project will draw on knowledge gained from an environmental scan commissioned by the Mental Health Professionals Association (MHPA) and a number of pilot workshops.

The MHPA was convened in early 2006 as a way of supporting a coordinated and collaborative forum for issues affecting key professions providing mental health care. The MHPA was engaged by the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing to develop a resource package for mental health professionals. The MHPA provided the support required to facilitate use of the new and existing mental health Medicare items and funding in an appropriate, effective and efficient manner.

The National Action Plan and Better Access

In July 2006, the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) endorsed a National Action Plan on Mental Health which provides a strategic framework emphasising coordination and collaboration between government, private and non-government providers.

Under the Plan, the Australian Government is providing $1.9 billion over 5 years to implement initiatives to improve services for people with a mental health disorder, their families and carers.

The Better Access initiative aims to support increased access to mental health services through the introduction of Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) items that allow coordinated and more affordable mental health care for the community. These new MBS funded services promote a collaborative approach to mental health care with GPs encouraged to liaise with psychiatrists, paediatricians and allied mental health professionals to increase the availability of care.
 

Pilot Workshops

Six pilot workshops were held in a mix of metropolitan and rural regions and involved over 80 participants from a range of mental health professions. These workshops were consistently rated as valuable by participants, and established a basis for the rollout of the subsequent Mental Health Professionals Network workshops.

The benefits that workshop participants cited included better understanding of the respective mental health professions, improved access to local resources, more up-to-date clinical knowledge and the anticipated ability to make more efficient and appropriate referrals. These benefits were seen as likely to improve outcomes for clients by generating greater collegial support and networks which would in turn have additional flow-on effects.

More on pilot workshops here