Our Commissioning team works tirelessly to commission mental health services of varying intensities to meet the different mental health support needs of all members of our community. This year, we worked with over 16 providers to deliver 194,008 sessions of care to 12,234 clients.
Western Sydney Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Joint Regional Plan 2024-2025
The Western Sydney Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Joint Regional Plan 2024-2025 (the Plan) strengthens our commitment to the region. We are 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 reinforces our commitment to promoting the mental health and wellbeing of the Western Sydney community and ensuring they can access quality, timely and affordable mental health care suited to their needs and context.
Early Psychosis Youth Services
The Early Psychosis Youth Services program is a recovery-based service designed for young people who have experienced their first psychotic episode or are at high risk of experiencing psychosis.
308
new referrals received
543
patients supported
81,418
occasions of service
Commonwealth Psychosocial Support
Uniting and One Door have been commissioned to run the Commonwealth Psychosocial Support program in Western Sydney. The program aims to help people with severe and complex mental health concerns to build social connections, achieve their educational, employment and financial goals, and live safely and actively within the community.
Head to Health
In July, we launched our newly commissioned Head to Health Adult Mental Health Centre (AMHC) in Parramatta.
Client Story:
Symptoms: Andre* is a 21-year-old student who was on exchange from the Netherlands. After experiencing increased anxiety and passive suicidal ideation, Andre reached out for support from Head to Health.
Support: Andre received support from a clinician within a few days of reaching out to Head to Health. While Andre had originally referred himself for support with managing his anxiety and addressing a recent traumatic event, his symptoms worsened, and he began displaying symptoms of hypomania. The clinician encouraged Andre to seek further support from a psychiatrist, who could provide diagnosis and medication if needed. The clinician supported in this process by contacting Western Sydney’s acute community mental health team, with Andre then being encouraged to present to hospital for immediate attention. Andre communicated his desire to return home to the Netherlands but felt as though he was failing by leaving his exchange early.
Outcome: The clinician encouraged Andre and supported his decision to return home. Support was given to Andre to make the call home to his mother and plans were made to get him home safely with his brother by his side. The clinician provided a support letter to escalate Andre’s brother’s visa so that Andre could head home as quickly as possible.
at the Opening of the AMHC
* Name changed to protect the person’s identity.
headspace
headspace is Australia’s National Youth Mental Health Foundation, providing early intervention mental health services to 12-25-year-olds. We have commissioned headspace in Parramatta to offer mental health care to those who need it.
Initial Assessment and Referral
This year, our Mental Health team has continued to provide training to health professionals on the Initial Assessment and Referral Decision Support Tool (IAR-DST). The tool helps referrers find the most appropriate level of care for people seeking mental health support. Using a stepped care model, the tool takes a standardised, evidence-informed approach to categorise mental health support needs based on one of five levels of care. By using the tool, GPs and mental health referrers can promote patient choice and the optimal use of mental health services to achieve improved mental health outcomes.
In the past 12 months, our team have provided IAR-DST training to 297 health professionals, including 214 GPs in Western Sydney.
