You can read the abstract for this presentation here.
Trish Lancaster presented the process and barriers faced in implementing a care coordination framework in the South Metro Mental Health Service (WA). The aim of care coordination is to strengthen the collaboration between mental health service providers, consumers and carers.
Trish originally trained and worked as a nurse in the UK. After coming over to Perth, she was surprised to discover that consumers were not involved in wards rounds and the meetings about them. Care coordination would help to address the variance in practice, lack of integration of services, and approaches that focused on the illness rather than the person.
In the process of creating and implementing a care coordination framework, an implementation group and a project control group were formed. As well as clinicians, consumers and carers were also heavily involved in this process. Recovery was a fundamental aspect of the framework.
The barriers faced included clinicians being reluctant to change to a care coordination framework, as well as service providers continuing to implement what they learnt in the training.
One hospital that implemented care coordination had 100% follow up after discharge from hospital within 7 days.
The outcomes of care coordination were increased satisfaction for consumers and carers, consistency of access to services and practice, and standardisation of the care process in South Metro Health Services.
Read more here.
