Specialist Mental Health Services in Victoria

This report provides an overview of specialist mental health services in Victoria, including their scope, aims, types, referral pathway, interventions, personnel, outcomes, and suggested improvements. The services aim to provide quality mental healthcare to various groups in society and bridge the gap between in-hospital care and living in the community.

A report on Specialist
Mental Health Services
in Victoria
Name
Institution

The Scope and Aims of the Service
• The Victorian government has committed itself to providing quality specialist
mental healthcare services to various groups in the society.
• However, it is not only the government that offers the services but also other
health care agencies such as the private mental health facilities, community
organizations as well as non-for profit organizations and healthcare facilities.
• The Specialist mental healthcare services offered in Victoria are divided into
three categories which include: Child and Adolescent mental health services (0
to 18 years), Adult mental health services( 16 to 64 years) and Aged persons
mental health services (65 years and above).
• The aim of the specialist mental healthcare service is to help bridge the gap
between in-hospital care and living in the community which include the
community intervention services and community care units.

Types of specialist Mental
healthcare services provided.
• Brian disorder services (BDS) which are offered to all adults who have
acquired any form of brain injury or neurodegenerative conditions with an
associated psychiatric disorder.
• Dual disability services (DDS) which are offered to people with both
intellectual disability and mental illness.
• Reconnexion services which involve the provision of information, education
and counselling services for panic, anxiety as well as for depression.
• Personality disorder services (PDS) which is provided for people with severe
as well as borderline personality disorder and are at risk of serious self harm
or suicide.

…..continued
• Mother-baby services are provided to mothers to allow them to bring
their babies into hospitals while they get treatment for mental health
issues
• Neuropsychiatric services which are provided by the Royal Melbourne
Hospital for people with neuropsychiatric disorders.
• Aboriginal mental health services which are provided to people with
aboriginal and torrers strait disorders.

Referral Pathway and access criteria
for the services
• Make a visit to local doctors and express their concerns.
• The local doctors are able to diagnose as well as treat some mental
healthcare issues and can also refer you to other mental healthcare
facilities for more specialized healthcare services.
• For immediate assistance, one is supposed to call 000 for help or call
the Acute community intervention services (ACIS) as well as the
police, ambulance staff or doctor.
• For anyone with the government Medicare card, then there are a
number of services that can enable them pay for the mental
healthcare services

The interventions/support
Utilized
• There are a number of intervention including; psychosocial
interventions, psychological interventions, rehabilitation therapy as
well as physical therapy.

Personnel Involved In specialist
mental healthcare services
• For primary mental healthcare services, the policy provides that
general practitioners, nurses as well as other healthcare staff working
in clinics.
• For specialized services, the policy guideline provides that specialist
staff should offer the services and these many include; psychiatrists,
psychiatric nurses, psychiatric social workers, psychologists as well as
physicians with special training in psychiatry.

Service Outcome
• The overall outcome of mental health care services is to achieve a
normal state of mental or cognitive functioning for the patients.

The Envisioned Gains
• Has led to improved and increased access to quality mental
healthcare services.
• Improved healthcare outcomes.
• It seeks to achieve a population of mental healthy people.

Suggested Improvement to the
Services
• I would recommend that, the government should seek to include all
the specialist mental healthcare services under the government
Medicare Plan.
• Subsidize the services to promote equality in terms of healthcare
access.