As implementation of the South Western Sydney Regional Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Plan 2022-2025 passes the halfway mark, this month’s Under the Microscope provides a reminder about how and why the plan was developed, and an update on its progression.
SWSPHN and South Western Sydney Local Health District (SWSLHD) came together for the first time to co-design and create a clear roadmap for supporting the mental health needs of people living in our region, launching the Regional Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Plan in November 2020.
The plan aims to guide local efforts to improve access to mental health support in areas including referral pathways, integration, and collaboration within the mental health sector and relevant community and health services.
It was developed in consultation with people with a lived experience of mental health issues and suicidal thoughts, carers, families, the wider community and healthcare providers, and is being implemented by representatives with a range of knowledge and experience across South Western Sydney.
The plan has a five-year focus (2020-2025) and guides collaborative decision-making to ensure maximum use of resources.
Its seven priority areas and working groups include:
- Integrating regional service delivery
- Strengthening suicide prevention and aftercare
- Coordinating treatment and supports for people with severe and complex mental illness
- Improving mental health and suicide prevention for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples
- Improving the mental health of diverse communities
- Supporting and developing mental health workforce
- Empowering and supporting individuals and communities
The lead organisations then came together in September last year to create a “success plan” for the implementation of the regional plan.
Key stakeholders also came together at the inaugural implementation network meeting in March. Members of the different working groups collaborated and networked outside of their priority areas for the first time and gained an oversight of the broader priorities of each group.
SWSPHN Chief Executive Officer, Dr Keith McDonald PhD, said since the “success plan” was implemented, the regional plan had gained momentum with greater collaboration across working groups, with members having a clearer understanding of the scope of the working groups, and face-to-face meetings being held.
“The findings from the working group meeting identified we needed to focus on engagement, increasing the momentum of the plan’s implementation and educating all members on the importance of their roles in the plan,” he said.
“The regional plan brings health professionals and people with lived experience together from all over South Western Sydney, who contribute vital knowledge and expertise to the project. We can’t implement positive changes without them.
“We have also taken on two health management students and a volunteer, who have been working on projects to support progressing actions of the working groups with a positive outcome that has supported the implementation activities.
“They’ve conducted a Mental Health Workforce deep dive, a Social and Emotional Wellbeing Framework deep dive on services for First Nations’ communities and produced recommendation reports for handover to the relevant working groups.”
A Snapshot of South Western Sydney’s Mental Health (South Western Sydney Regional Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Plan to 2025):
- Suicide rates in South Western Sydney region between 2007 and 2016 were similar to the NSW rate, however, suicide rates for males in the Southern Highlands (18.6 deaths per 100,000 population), Wollondilly (15 deaths per 100,000 population) and Campbelltown (14.8 deaths per 100,000 population) have been significantly higher than the rest of South Western Sydney
- 16 per cent of the adult population self-reported high or very high psychological distress
- In any given year, up to 166,000 people could be impacted by mental illness at different levels of severity
- Hospitalisation numbers for overnight mental health-related hospitalisations per 10,000 population by SA3 are: South Western Sydney 97; Campbelltown 144; Southern Highlands 139; Liverpool 114; Camden 87; Bankstown 82; Fairfield 81; Wollondilly 80; Bringelly to Green Valley 77
- Overnight hospitalisation rates for schizophrenia and delusional disorders were higher for Campbelltown and Liverpool residents compared to the national rates