Topic: Mental health

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

A total of 85 people attended three Local Health Forums held in Warwick Farm, Campbelltown, and Bowral, to better understand mental health service gaps in our region.

The forums, held in August and September, provided community members with the chance to share valuable feedback about the barriers for people accessing mental health services. 

The information gathered from the forums will help us to better target funding and services by understanding how people living in South Western Sydney access and engage with mental health services, the support people may need in accessing those services, and how we can improve services and coordination to best meet the needs of our community.

The feedback will also inform the SWSPHN Health Needs Assessment, which explores the priorities, service needs and gaps within the region.

Thank you to all who contributed.

SWSPHN is holding three Local Health Forums with community and support workers to better understand the barriers people face to accessing mental health services within South Western Sydney.

Through the forums attendees will help us to better understand how people living in South Western Sydney access and engage with mental health services, the support people may need in accessing those services, and how we can improve services and coordination to best meet the needs of our community.

Local Health Forums are held in the evening, and include a two-course dinner. They are free to attend.

Forum dates:

• Warwick Farm: 22 August 2023
• Campbelltown: 5 September 2023
• Bowral: 13 September 2023

If you would like to attend a Local Health Forum, or to learn more about this initiative visit HealthChat.

HealthChat

An online survey is also available for people who would like to contribute but cannot attend.

 

Today (Friday, 11 August) we are opening the Liverpool Head to Health Centre will provide a welcoming and safe space for people seeking mental health and wellbeing support.

Emma McBride, Assistant Minister for Mental Health and Suicide Prevention and Assistant Minister for Rural and Regional Health, officially launched the service and welcomed this specialist support for the South Western Sydney community.

Delivered by Neami National and funded by the South Western Sydney PHN, Liverpool Head to Health provides free, walk-in, mental health and wellbeing support without the need for an appointment, referral or Medicare card.

Co-designed with the Liverpool community, including people with a lived and living experience of mental health and wellbeing challenges, the new purpose-built centre is open to people of all ages. The service also provides support for carers and loved ones of people experiencing distress.

Liverpool Head to Health provides:

• immediate help to reduce distress  
• help to safely cope with thoughts of suicide  
• help to navigate through a crisis  
• support to improve mental wellbeing  
• help to connect with ongoing support

Clinical Service Manager at Neami National James Huynh said: “Liverpool Head to Health offers a unique approach to assisting people with their mental health and wellbeing needs.

“For many people, hospital and clinical settings can be overwhelming when experiencing emotional distress or a mental health crisis. The Liverpool Head to Health centre has been designed to provide a calm, welcoming and inclusive space, where guests are supported throughout their time at the centre by a peer support worker, who has their own lived experience of mental health and wellbeing challenges.”

The Liverpool Head to Health centre includes a team of counsellors, social workers, psychologists, nurses and peer support workers, from diverse cultural backgrounds who speak a number of languages.

A Community Engagement Officer, also works closely with local communities, including culturally diverse communities, to help raise awareness of the supports available at the new service.

Neami National Executive Director Kim Holmes said: “We’re pleased to work together with the South Western Sydney PHN to deliver Liverpool Head to Health.

“The launch of this new service builds on Neami’s experience in delivering Head to Health services in other parts of Australia. Combining our learnings and expertise from our national services, with our understanding of the local community and their needs, we hope to provide meaningful support through Liverpool Head to Health.”

South Western Sydney PHN Chief Executive Officer, Dr Keith McDonald PhD, said South Western Sydney residents experienced higher levels of psychological distress compared to the state average.

“Almost 1,000 individuals accessed the Head to Health pop up services in our region during the last two years,” he said.

“Head to Health centres provide a highly visible and accessible entry point to services for people experiencing psychological distress, where all feel safe and welcomed.  

“We look forward to working with Neami National, which has experience and expertise in establishing and operating Head to Health centres, to improve mental health outcomes for our community.”

Liverpool Head to Health is located at 203 Northumberland Street, Liverpool and is open from 1pm to 9.30pm on Mondays and Wednesday to Sunday, and 1pm to 5pm on Tuesdays, including public holidays.

For more information, visit headtohealth.neaminational.org.au