Health professionals working in the mental health and primary care sector have an important role to play in the diagnosis and treatment of patients experiencing mental ill-health. As there may be an increase in the number of people seeking mental health support during Mental Health Month it is important to be equipped with the right resources to manage and refer patients.
Mental Health Services in Western Sydney
We commission mental health services in Western Sydney to meet the different mental health support needs of members of our community. In the 2022-23 financial year, we worked with over 130 providers to deliver 56,433 sessions of care to 9,162 clients.
To see a list of the mental health services we commission, visit our Mental Health webpage.
Assessing Mental Health Care Needs: IAR-DST Training
The Initial Assessment and Referral Decision Support Tool (IAR-DST) is a new resource designed to support health professionals assess or estimate the mental health care needs of their patients within a primary care setting. By using a standardised, evidence-based tool to categorise mental health levels, patients can be connected to the most appropriate local care. The Initial Assessment and Referral (IAR) tool uses eight assessment domains to estimate the service intensity required by patients across five levels of care.
Multiple training dates are available for IAR-DST training. You can choose the option that best suits you by registering via the Our West Sydney platform. You can also contact our team if you would like to organise face-to-face or whole-of-practice training at iar@wentwest.com.au
Read more about IAR-DST training.
Mental Health Resources
Western Sydney HealthPathways is an online health information platform that provides health professionals with localised, evidence-based and up-to-date information and resources to make informed decisions with their patients at the point of care.
Visit the Mental Health pathway category to navigate the following topics:
- Addiction medicine
- ADHD in adults
- Anxiety in adults
- Bereavement
- Bipolar disorder
- Deliberate self-harm
- Depression in adults
- Eating disorders in adults
- Children and youth mental health
- Physical health and mental illness
- Pregnancy and postpartum mental health
- Problem gambling
- Psychosis in adults
- Suicide risk
- Mental health referrals
If you don’t have the login details, please contact our HealthPathways team at healthpathways@wentwest.com.au
Mindframe has developed a range of resources that helps use non-stigmatising, safe and inclusive language in conversations about mental health:
- Communicating about Suicide
- Communicating about Mental Ill-health
- Communicating about Alcohol and Other Drugs
12 October 2023