Monday, July 20, 2009

Carer support

The NSW Mental Health Act 2007 is very clear about the role and value of carer involvement in the treatment and care coordination of the person with the mental illness or mental disorder. In just about all cases the primary carer is a family member or partner of the affected person. Therefore, it is considered by the staff of the Bowral Mental Health service that the primary carer should be as much a member of the team supporting the person with the mental illness as any other clinician or service provider.On rare occasions the person with the mental illness, due to their psychiatric condition or due to interpersonal issues with the primary carer or their family of origin, will refuse to have them involved in the treatment team. The NSW Mental Health Act of 2007 is, however, very supportive of the carer's role in ensuring that appropriate treatment and follow-up is provided. Whilst respecting the wishes of the person with the mental illness it can be suggested that the treating service has a duty of care to obtain a more complete history and observations as provided by the patient's primary carer. In the past carers have not had this opportunity and it has been frustrating for them and, in many instances, for the clinicians. Many carers in the past have remarked that they do not seek to know about the treatment being received by the patient, but that they simply wanted to tell the staff about something that the patient may not want to disclose.Without a doubt, the primary carers and other family members can be incredibly stressed by the behaviour, emotions and other features of the patient's mental illness. This is one reason why NSW Health and the Area Health Services positively fosters the Carer support services provided through a range of funded organisations.These include the Schizophrenia Fellowship, the Benevolent Society of NSW, Carers NSW, Disability Trust, and the Association of Relatives and Friends of the Mentally Ill (ARAFMI NSW). Some will provide direct support for individual carers, others will provide support and education and training programs for carers so that they are better able to manage the person with the mental illness in the home and community setting. Some organisations will also provide carer respite services for the carers so that they have the opportunity to have some quality time or time out from the care of the person with the mental illness.Some of the organisations named in the previous paragraph also offer services to the person with the mental illness, thereby providing additional respite for the carer as well as providing the living and social skills to the affected person.Finally, the Bowral Mental Health Service, through its rehabilitation service in Berrima Cottage, also provides a monthly carer support group which is co-facilitated by the support worker funded through Carers NSW.To access the latter support group phone Bowral Hospital and ask for the Berrima Cottage. Discuss your needs with the staff of the rehabilitation and recovery program and they will provide you with contact details for the support group and other services and planned training opportunities.

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