Introducing a broader Bowral Mental Health Service

Over recent years the NSW and Federal governments and NSW Health have been extending the partnerships between non-government services and mental health services. These partnership arrangements are in addition to those traditionally seen between the public health and private health sectors. Typically, the latter have been best demonstrated in the working relationship between general practitioners an other medical specialists, their patients and the local mental health service.In the new partnerships, the Federal Government has introduced the "Better Access to Mental Health" programs, which is a collaboration between allied health professionals in the private sector, and mental health nurse specialists associated with general medical practices. Referrals in this program may be made by the general practitioners of the patients. Similarly, the NSW Government has initiated contractual relationships, through the various Area Health Services in the State, with non-government organisations to provide non-clinical support services to persons with mental illness, both in their homes and in the community. Additionally, the intersectoral relationships between various Government Departments allows for primary interventions in some residential settings to provide primary health and welfare care to disdvantaged residents. These initiatives allow NGOs and clinical staff in the private sector, to do what they do best for persons with a mental illness at minimal or no cost to the patients. They also allow the clinical staff in the public health sector to do what they do best.....that is, to respond to crises and to provide an earlier intervention to patients and their family members and/or carers. Earlier intervention often means stays of a shorter duration if the treatment for the mental illness has to be provided in a hospital.All of these initiatives are respectful of both patient and carers/families. They are intended to draw the patient back into the mainstream community. To normalise their lives as much as possible while giving then adequate and timely support to achieve their outcomes. These support programs, combined with care coordination by the clinical staff of the Bowral Mental Health Service, are now the extended mental health service of the 21st Century.