Mental Health Month is a reminder that mental health is everyone’s business. In Western Sydney, the need has never been clearer.
Around one in seven people experience a mental health condition each year, with the highest rates among young people aged 16–34. Mental health remains one of the leading causes of illness and contributes significantly to emergency department presentations, hospital admissions and ongoing health challenges across our region.
Young people, women, people facing social disadvantage, and those struggling with housing, financial stress or isolation are particularly affected.
While Western Sydney has a growing network of services, strengthening connections between health professionals, services and communities is critical.
That’s why this Mental Health Month, WentWest is encouraging health professionals to connect, learn and discover the mental health and suicide prevention services available across Western Sydney.
Bringing local expertise together
The upcoming Connecting the Dots: Mental Health in Western Sydney forum is an opportunity for health professionals to come together, hear from others working across the sector and strengthen connections across the local mental health system.
For GPs, it’s a chance to step outside the day-to-day demands of the consultation room and connect with the people and services that can support patients beyond primary care.
Build practical knowledge through IAR training
There are also opportunities to build practical knowledge through the Mental Health IAR Training Series, with upcoming sessions featuring headspace Mount Druitt and STARTTS. Health professionals can visit the service provider, tour the facilities, connect with the team, find out what they do, and discover referral pathways.
The training is part of the national Initial Assessment and Referral Guidance and Decision Support Tool (IAR-DST) initiative. The IAR-DST gives health professionals a shared framework for understanding a person’s mental health needs, considering appropriate supports and identifying the right level of care. For GPs and other health professionals, it supports more consistent clinical decision-making, clearer conversations about care and more informed referrals to services that meet each person’s needs.
Explore the upcoming IAR Training Series and discover local services and referral pathways.
How WentWest is improving mental health in Western Sydney
WentWest works across the full mental health continuum, from preventing distress and suicide, to intervening early when people first need help, through to crisis support, aftercare and recovery. The aim is to ensure people in Western Sydney can access the right support, at the right time, close to home, and to reduce the number of people reaching crisis point before receiving help. Visit our mental health page to find out more.
Prevention
Helping people stay mentally well and reducing the factors that can contribute to mental ill-health and suicide.
- Investing in regional suicide prevention initiatives that bring together people with lived experience, community organisations, health services and government partners to develop local solutions
- Commissioning community-based mental health services that provide psychological support before challenges escalate.
- Funding psychosocial support programs that address social isolation, housing instability, financial pressures and other social factors that can impact mental health
- Building the capability of GPs and health professionals through mental health training and the IAR-DST program
- Strengthening partnerships across primary care, hospitals, community organisations and government to create a more connected mental health system
Early Intervention
Helping people get support early, before they reach crisis point.
- Operating the Parramatta Medicare Mental Health Centre and opening the Blacktown Medicare Mental Health Centre, providing free walk-in support with no referral or appointment required
- Providing assessment, short-term treatment, care navigation and referrals to connect people with the right support at the right time
- Improving support for the “missing middle” by strengthening pathways for people whose needs are too complex for primary care but who may not meet specialist service thresholds
- Supporting young people through services such as headspace and early psychosis programs, recognising the higher mental health needs among younger age groups
- Supporting GPs to identify mental health concerns earlier and make informed referrals through the IAR-DST framework
Crisis Support and Recovery
Supporting people experiencing severe distress, suicidal crisis and recovery after crisis.
- Delivering Universal Aftercare (The Way Back) for people following a suicide attempt or suicidal crisis, providing rapid follow-up support during a period of heightened vulnerability
- Providing immediate support, assessment and crisis response through Medicare Mental Health Centres
- Connecting people to ongoing clinical, community and social supports through care navigation and warm referrals
- Improving coordination between hospitals, primary care and community services so people receive more connected support during and after a mental health crisis
- Supporting recovery by helping people reconnect with family, community supports, housing and other services that contribute to long-term wellbeing
Together, these opportunities can help create a more connected mental health system by linking people with the right support, strengthening relationships between health professionals and bringing primary care closer to the broader mental health sector.
Join us to connect the dots between primary care, mental health services and the Western Sydney community.