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July 2018 Jul 2018
Posted July 02, 2018
Six NSW PHN’s have come together to fund ProCare Mental Health Services, a not-for-profit service provider, to operate a new psychiatry support line for GPs.
Richard Nankervis , CEO of Hunter New England PHN, said GPs have expressed the benefit of having timely access to psychiatry expertise to assist them managing the care of their patients with mental health problems.
At present, there are no psychiatry advice services for GPs in NSW. There’s also limited psychiatrists practising outside the metropolitan areas so it’s crucial that regional GPs are supported,
“It is anticipated that more mental health consumers would remain in general practice if GPs had access to a telephone advice line staffed by specialist psychiatrists,”
“It is not about triaging or referring consumers to a psychiatrist, but rather keeping consumers whose conditions are able to be treated within primary care under the care of their GP,”
ProCare Mental Health Services was selected following an open tender process.
“This is the first time that six PHNs have joined together to co-commission a service and we are delighted with the outcome,”
“ProCare has proven success in providing a range of high quality mental health services that support individuals, couples, families, and children,”
“The organisation has also demonstrated it is able to deliver a high quality phone advice line for GPs with strong clinical governance in place”.
The new support line is due to commence operations from today and will be great news for local GPs in the region.
The service is free, and available Monday to Friday, 9am-5pm
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