The Integrated Mental Health Atlas of Brisbane North

Abstract

ConNetica, with partners from the Mental Health Policy Unit, Brain and Mind Centre at the University of Sydney, were engaged by Metro North Brisbane Medicare Local (later the Brisbane North Primary Health Network – BN PHN) in February 2015 to undertake an analysis of the current mental health services and population mental health needs for the region. This ‘mental health atlas’ project was identified as one of a suite of priority projects by North Brisbane Partners in Recovery (NB PIR) to improve the “patient experience” and build a more collaborative, coordinated and integrated service system for people with severe disability from mental illness. The aim of this Atlas is twofold; 1) to help providers and consumers to navigate the system, by improving their knowledge about the services available in the area; and 2) as a tool for evidence-informed planning, as it presents a critical analysis of the pattern of mental health care provided within the boundaries of the BN PHN. The ‘integrated care model’ frames the Atlas. This model has challenged the way health- related care should be assessed and planned. Through focusing on possibilities for integration it enables us to identify new routes for linked-up, consumer-centred approaches to care. Greater integration relies on a global picture of all the services available, regardless of which sector is funding them (i.e. Health, Social Welfare and Family, Employment, Criminal Justice). Integrated Atlases allow policy planners and decision makers to understand the landscape in which they work (including areas of gap or over-supply), make bridges between the different sectors and to better allocate services. This is particularly important as mental health services become more ‘person-centred’ (placing the person and their needs at the centre of their care) and public investment focuses on person-centred care coordination programs such as Partners in Recovery (PIR) or the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). This Atlas uses a standard classification system, the "Description and Evaluation of Services and Directories in Europe for long-term care" model (DESDE-LTC), to map the services. The use of a common language has allowed us to compare the pattern of mental health care provided in Western Sydney with regions in Europe. These comparisons are useful for learning lessons from service and policy approaches taken in other countries. Data on services providing care for people with a lived experience of mental ill-health in Brisbane North was collected from mid-April to end of July. We received 18 on-line responses and an additional 16 face-to-face interviews with large mental health provider organisations. These were from a list of 69 organisations provided by the Metro North Brisbane Medical Local. The strengths in the mental health service system in Brisbane North, particularly with the addition of the PIR and ATAPS services, have been found to be: 1) An adequate number of acute care beds 2) A high degree of mobility for outpatient care 3) Existing service locations and catchments are relatively well aligned to geographic areas of higher population need, meaning that overall there is a good level of accessibility to those services. However there are major deficiencies or gaps in both the spectrum of care available and the capacity relative to population needs in Brisbane North. We have found four major gaps in the provision of services in the Brisbane North region: 1) Hospital sub-acute care 2) Non-hospital acute and sub-acute care 3) Acute and non-acute health care day-related 4) Low availability of day care centres related to employment. This Mental Health Atlas is a starting point for the Brisbane North PHN and Metro North Health and Hospital Services to harness this local evidence to change the mental health system for the benefit of the community.