As the Western Sydney Primary Health Network (WSPHN), we are committed to a mentally healthy and inclusive Western Sydney community. The Western Sydney Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Joint Regional Plan 2024-2025 (the Plan) strengthens our commitment to the region and to working collaboratively with our partners, Western Sydney Local Health District (WSLHD) and Sydney Children’s Hospitals Network (SCHN), to develop a whole-of-system approach to achieve better mental health outcomes for the Western Sydney community.
The Plan builds upon the Western Sydney Integrated Regional Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Plan 2020-2022 (the Foundation Plan) which created a strong foundation for collaboration and set out mental health priorities for the Western Sydney region. It includes the following objectives:
- Strengthening collaborative governance and information sharing for planning, commissioning and evaluating services
- Forging partnerships within and beyond the health and social care sectors that deliver better mental health outcomes
- Developing, integrating and utilising eHealth systems
- Improving the access to and quality of perinatal, infant and child mental health
- Ensuring adolescents and young people are supported through the school years and during the transition to adulthood
- Implementing suicide and self-harm prevention and crisis interventions
- Attracting and retaining a committed, culturally competent and accredited workforce
The updated Plan drives implementation of the objectives within the Foundation Plan through a series of actions aimed at strengthening mental health and suicide prevention programs, shared and collaborative governance and supporting and building the capacity of the mental health workforce in Western Sydney.
Investing in the Mental Health Workforce
IAR-DST training
The Initial Assessment and Referral Decision Support Tool (IAR-DST) takes a standardised approach to assessing mental health treatment needs and referring patients. The IAR-DST creates a shared language and guides mental health referrals in a stepped care approach, supporting mental health service providers to make referrals to the most appropriate level of care.
In line with our commitment to investing in the mental health workforce, we run regular, free, online IAR-DST training sessions for GPs, general practice clinicians and other primary mental health service providers in Western Sydney.
During the two-hour training session, our IAR training team will support participants to understand:
- The purpose of the IAR-DST
- How to use the tool
- The types of mental health services that correspond with each of the five levels of care
- The available, evidence-informed mental health services in the region and online
GPs who attend IAR-DST training are eligible for Continuing Professional Development (CPD) points from the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP). GPs and GP registrars will receive a $300 reimbursement for completing the training.
Visit our webpage to learn more about the Initial Assessment and Referral Decision Support Tool and visit the Our West Sydney website to register for our online training sessions.
Right Care, First Time, Where You Live
In line with our commitments under the Plan, we have partnered with the University of Sydney to deliver a bold, innovative initiative to support youth mental health in the region. Right Care, First Time, Where You Live is a tool that leverages systems modelling to enable health authorities and policymakers to gather meaningful insights to make data-informed decisions about youth mental health services. We plan to use this tool to deliver better health outcomes for young people and their communities.
Visit The University of Sydney’s website to learn more about the Right Care, First Time, Where You Live program.
9 May 2024