Topic: Mental health

Two new headspace centres will begin providing support to young people in our region early next year, with South Western Sydney Primary Health Network’s (SWSPHN) funding of Grand Pacific Health to establish centres at Narellan and Edmondson Park.

Grand Pacific Health is a recognised health service provider which is currently the lead agency for seven headspace centres across NSW, including a centre at Liverpool.

SWSPHN Acting Chief Executive Officer, Kristen Short, said headspace centres offered unique services to young people which reflected the needs of their local community.

“Grand Pacific Health, with its experience in providing services tailored to the needs of diverse communities across the state, is well placed to establish and deliver our region’s two new headspace centres,” she said.

headspace is a free (or low cost) health service for young people aged 12 to 25.

headspace centres provide support for young people with mild to moderate mental illness, including those associated with physical and sexual health, alcohol and other drugs and vocational and educational needs.

Clients have access to a youth-friendly environment with experienced staff, including psychologists, counsellors, youth workers and doctors.

Ms Short said: “headspace is a vital service, a ‘one-stop-shop’ for young people and their families, designed not just for young people but with them.

“The Department of Health and Aged Care has heard the community’s concerns and has addressed the gap in youth mental health supports in the South Western Sydney growth corridor with the provision of two new headspace centres,” she said.

“SWSPHN is pleased to be able to facilitate and fund services like headspace which improve access to mental health services in our region.”

To access the service, young people can drop into their local headspace centre or phone the centre to make an appointment, without a doctor’s referral.

The Narellan and Edmondson Park headspace centres will complement other SWSPHN-funded youth specific mental health services including headspace Campbelltown, Liverpool and Bankstown, and ReFrame in the Wollondilly and Wingecarribee Shires.

An estimated five million Australians feel lonely at any given time.

Unfortunately, ignoring loneliness and not having the right avenues for connection can lead to poor health, increased distress and in some cases earlier death.

Many people who desire meaningful connection don’t know where to go to connect with others and build meaningful relationships.

Ending Loneliness Together has developed Australia’s first national online directory enabling people experiencing loneliness and their support networks to easily find and connect with groups, organisations and services providing opportunities for connection.

The search functionality means you can filter based on your role, your preferred service type and your geographic location, so that results are accessible and tailored to your needs.

There is also an opportunity for organisations or services who provide support for people experiencing loneliness to be listed on the directory by completing an online form.

The differences between Medicare’s Better Access initiative and PHN-commissioned mental health services are explained on this page to assist primary health professionals in referring patients for mental health treatment and supports.

Primary mental healthcare explained

Primary mental healthcare involves assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of mental health problems or concerns

This is usually the first level of mental healthcare a person receives. It can be provided in the home, or in community-based settings such as:

• General practices
• Mental health professional practices
• Community health centres
• Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services

Primary mental healthcare is not provided in hospitals. This type of care is known as tertiary care and is usually for people with acute mental health problems.

The two main subsidised referral options for primary mental health treatment

Better Access and PHN-commissioned mental health services are the two main referral options available to people to access subsidised primary mental health services

Both referral options require the general practitioner (GP) to develop a Mental Health Treatment Plan (MHTP). A MHTP involves a GP conducting an assessment, a plan for treatment and a referral. A Mental Health Treatment Plan is a living document and may be reviewed (MHTP-Review) by a GP every three months.

Better Access/PHN comparison table

Better Access Initiative

The Better Access initiative provides Medicare rebates to help people with a MHTP to access mental health support from eligible mental health professionals, including psychiatrists, psychologists and eligible social workers and occupational therapists.

Session allocation: 10 individual and 10 groups sessions each calendar year.

Fee: A gap payment may be charged, speak to your mental health professional.

Find out more about the Better Access initiative on the Department of Health and Aged Care website.

PHN-commissioned services

The Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care has tasked Primary Health Networks (PHNs) with implementing primary mental healthcare reform activities. This involves identifying gaps in primary mental healthcare at a local level, co-designing services with the input of people with lived experience, and funding, monitoring and evaluating these services.

South Western Sydney PHN (SWSPHN) funds a number of free mental health programs targeted at individuals who experience barriers to accessing the Better Access initiative (explained above) – with the aim of ensuring individuals are linked with a service which best meets their needs.

Download document listing SWSPHN commissioned mental health services by care need

Like the Better Access Initiative, mental health supports are available from eligible mental health professionals, including psychiatrists, psychologists and eligible social workers and occupational therapists, in addition to other mental health professionals such as mental health nurses and peer workers, through these programs.

Neami National is inviting community members from across South Western Sydney to join in sessions – either virtual or face-to-face – to help shape the new Head to Health service which will be based in Liverpool CBD.

The Australian Government rolled out Head to Health services in 2021. The services included an intake and assessment phone line, adult mental health centres, satellite services and pop-up hubs like those at Liverpool and Bankstown.

Neami has now been funded to establish a permanent adult mental health centre in the Liverpool CBD, to provide short-to-medium term support for people experiencing moderate or heightened mental health problems.

Neami established the state’s first permanent Head to Health centre in Penrith in 2021, and last week some of the SWSPHN team visited the Penrith site to better understand the support offered and the warm, welcoming space which will be available to people in our region.

The Liverpool Head to Health centre will begin taking referrals in South Western Sydney from mid-2023.

Anyone wanting to access the Head to Health service now, can call 1800 595 212 to talk to a trained mental health professional.

Community Connection sessions:

The sessions are for those including:

• People with lived and living experience of mental health challenges, distress, adversity, recovery, or service use
• People with experience supporting someone with these experiences as a carer, family member or significant other
• Service providers, including general practitioners, those working in community health services, and emergency services
• Members of community groups and organisations
• Anyone in the Liverpool community interested in learning more about the service

The Community Connection virtual session will be held on Monday, 3 April from 3pm to 5pm via Zoom.

Join Zoom meeting (meeting ID: 835 9917 4218 and passcode: 973730)

The Community Connection face-to-face session will be held on Wednesday, 5 April, from 8.30am to 11am at the Hilda M Davis Senior Citizens Centre, 185 Bigge Street, Liverpool.

Register to attend

The pop-up hubs in Liverpool and Bankstown, delivered by One Door Mental Health, will continue operating until the permanent Liverpool centre is established. Residents can call 1800 595 212 to talk to a trained mental health professional who can help find support that’s right for them.