Sample Assignment: Mental Health and Illness

Running head: HEALTH CARE REFORM
Executive summary
Mental illness is widely prevalent in Australia and 1 in 3 people have experienced some form
of mental disorders in their lifetime. While major efforts have been taken by the government
to reduce stigma related to mental illness, the NSW Government had taken initiatives for the
enforcement of a mental health reform “NSW Mental Health Reform 2014-2024”, for the
enhancement of health and wellbeing of the sufferers. The report found that the NSW Mental
Health Reform 2014-2024 has acted in the form of a framework that puts the affected people
at the core of all mental healthcare system. The government is working hard for creating a
balance between the mental health services and has also taken steps to shift the people from
hospitals to community-based care centres, while upholding their respect, dignity and
opinion.

MENTAL HEALTH REFORM1
Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................2
Discussion..................................................................................................................................2
Objectives...............................................................................................................................2
Critical evaluation of strategy................................................................................................5
Conclusion and recommendation...............................................................................................8
References................................................................................................................................10

MENTAL HEALTH REFORM2
Introduction
Health care reforms refer to the recent changes and modifications that are made in
health policies, particularly government policies. These reforms are found to affect the
delivery of health care services at a particular location. The primary aim of health care
reforms are to broaden the population that is receiving the health coverage, either via
insurance programs in public sector or private sectors (Katon & Unützer, 2013). Kidd,
McKenzie and Virdee (2014) state that the reforms also attempt to enlarge the range of the
health care consumers, augment the quality of care, and reduce the associated costs. The
principles of Catholic Social Teaching delivers the indispensable framework for thoughtful
reasoning of the societal problems. With an increase in the aging population and associated
costs of healthcare services, the Australian government has proposed several health reforms
that have or will create an impact on the quality of life and health status of most Australians
in future.
Reports from the government suggests that almost 1 in 3 people living in Australia,
above the age of 45 live with a chronic health condition. Statistical reports suggested that
more than 39% of potentially avoidable hospitalisations in the nation were due to chronic
diseases during 2013-2014. Furthermore, more than 11 million Australians, which accounts
for an estimated 50% of the entire population reported presence of at least one chronic
conditions in 2014-2015 (Australian Government, 2018). The eight identified chronic
diseases are arthritis, mental health conditions asthma, cancer, back pain, cardiovascular
disease, diabetes, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. This report will elaborate on
the NSW Mental Health Reform 2014-2024 and will explore its strategies and recommend
future directions.

MENTAL HEALTH REFORM3
Discussion
Objectives
Mental health refers to the psychological, emotional, and social well-being and controls
the way by which an individual acts, feels and thinks. Mental health is also responsible for
assisting people in handling stress, relating to others, and making informed choices. Thus,
mental health is utmost imperative to all stages of human life, beginning from childhood till
old age. The NSW Mental Health Reform 2014-2024 was formulated by the Mental Health
Commission, the primary role of which is to monitor, review and improve the status of
mental health and wellbeing for all people residing in NSW (NSW Government, 2015). The
Mental Health Commission of NSW referred to different sources for the development of a
strategic plan that focused on mental health care in the NSW.
This led to the adoption of the Living Well: A Strategic Plan for Mental Health, a ten year
road map 2014-2024 in 2014, by the government. The chief objective of the plan was to
frame actions related to reform of the existing mental health system in NSW (Mental Health
Commission, 2014). This also called for the need of effective collaboration between the non-
government agencies, private sectors, and the NSW government, for improving the
consequences for people residing with a mental disorders. The basic objectives of the health
reform are given below:
Strengthening the early intervention and prevention
Shifting the emphasis to community based care services
Emerging an additional responsive system (NSW Government, 2015)
Working in an organised manner for delivering person-centred care
Constructing a better system