Authors: Fremantle Hospital & Health Service Directorate of Mental Health Services Alma Street Centre
Year: 2001
Event: 2001 TheMHS Awards
Subject:
Type of resource: TheMHS Awards
Award state: WA
Award level: Silver
Award category: Specialist Service or Part of a Larger Service
Abstract: The Government’s commitment to a more integrated health system and its desire to incorporate General Practice into such a system is explicit in national policy documents and reports. These indicate the need for a new, integrated approach to mental health care. Historically, the Fremantle region has suffered from poor communication and lack of collaboration and support between General Practitioners and the ASC. This has been further substantiated by the results of the 1998 General Practitioner’s communication survey conducted by the FHHS GP Liaison Team. In recognition of this fact the ASC has created a Mental Health GP Liaison Service that aims to explore existing problems and barriers to collaboration, improve dialogue between GPs and mental health pracititioners, improve the mental health of clients of GPs and the ASC, and to provide support and education to GPs on specific mental health issues. Description of Facility/Organisation: The Mental Health General Practice Liaison Service provides liaison between the Directorate of Mental Health Services at the Alma Street Centre (ASC) of the Fremantle Hospital and Health Service (FHHS) and General Practices within the catchment area. The catchment area is situated south of Perth and includes the City of Fremantle, the Town of East Fremantle, the City of Melville and the City of Cockburn, with a population of approximately 180,000. The core team currently consists of 1 FTE GP Liaison Nurse, 0.1 FTE GP Consultant and 1.2 FTE Psychiatrist/Psychiatry Registrar. Unlike other Services, we are fully integrated within the existing community team structure of the ASC. The Service conducts approximately 35 new assessments and visits 6 General Practices per month.
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