Published on 11 April 2024
Foreword
As we welcome Autumn and the change of the season it’s also an opportunity to pause and reflect on our own season. What season are you in, right now? Professionally are you in a season of growth, adjustment or learning. Personally, you are in a season of new beginnings, child rearing or health and fitness. What do you need to help you to thrive in this season? What supports do you have in place? Just as the weather seasons change, so do our professional and personal ones and it might just be worth considering what this means for you.
For the last 18 months, the season for Mental Health and Wellbeing has been CHANGE and whilst change is ongoing and inevitable, I think the season for our division is changing to stability and opportunity. We now have the stability of being part of Western Health and the benefits that come with being embodied by the same organisation that we treat our consumers in. We also have new opportunities to align and review our systems, structure, processes and practices and to build strong connections with our colleagues from other divisions and with these opportunities great things can be achieved.
It is with mixed feelings that I say goodbye to the Mental Health and Wellbeing Services division. I started with the Perinatal Mental Health Service in 2018, stepped out for a few years before returning 14 months ago and being back has helped to reignite my passion for mental health and wellbeing and I feel very grateful for all I’ve learnt during this time. In Perinatal Mental Health we are always using the terms contain, mentalise and delight and I encourage you all to consider how these words and what they mean could be used in your daily practice both with consumers and each other.
Enjoy the season!
-Livia
Livia Cremona-Bellizia, Director Service Development and Reporting
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Nurse Practitioner Candidate scholarship success
The Department of Health has awarded Western Health two $12,000 scholarships for nurse practitioner candidates (NPC), with one of these scholarships allocated to develop a NPC in women’s health in MHWS.
The purpose of this DH funding is to allow WH to support the development of nurse practitioners by covering the education costs associated with candidates completing the required master level qualification. This initiative aims to support the development of the nurse practitioner role and increase the number of nurse practitioners in the workforce.
Start dates for NPCs are anticipated later in the year.
To learn more about the scholarships and eligibility visit: Support for new nurse practitioners | health.vic.gov.au
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Chief Mental Health Nurse visit
On Thursday 28 March 2024, the Mental Health Senior Nursing Leadership Team, hosted a visit from Anna Love, Chief Mental Health Nurse and members of her team at Safer Care Victoria.
In attendance was Kate Thwaites, Deputy Chief Mental Health and Director Mental Health Improvement, Janine Davies, Mental Health Nurse Advisor and Gemma Ricketson, Manager Mental Health Improvement Program (MHIP).
WH senior leaders Shane Crowe, EDON, Jo Mapes DEDON, Paula Stephenson GM, Dr Naveen Thomas CSD, Jolene Geh DD, Ryan Dube, DON, Kathleen Kelly, Senior Mental Health Nurse, Linda Mora, Senior Mental Health Nurse and were also in attendance on the day.
The Safer Care Victoria team acknowledged our achievements over the past 12 months, including our seamless disaggregation, accreditation success, and opening of the new mental health and wellbeing centre. We had an opportunity to engage Anna and her team in rich conversation about some of the challenges and opportunities that we have encountered so far, including the implementation of the new mental health and wellbeing act, the current reducing restrictive intervention landscape, and our efforts to improve practice in this area not only in MHWS, but throughout Western Health. The team were thoroughly impressed by our people’s commitment to Best Care and patient safety, with Anna stating “the visit demonstrated excellent implementation of services specifically for women’s mental health and the connection and importance of monitoring physical health.”
My sincere gratitude goes to our senior nursing leadership team for coordinating the visit and to our Program Managers for such an engaging and passionate conversation about exceptional nursing care across our services.
-Ryan
Ryan Dube Director of Nursing, Mental Health and Wellbeing Services
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Victoria's new Chief Psychiatrist
It was recently announced, Victoria has a new Chief Psychiatrist, Associate Professor Sophie Adams.
Katherine Whetton, Deputy Secretary Mental Health and Wellbeing Division advised Sophie has a range of clinical expertise in adult, neuropsychiatry, youth psychiatry, neurostimulation and consultation liaison psychiatry; and a wealth of experience across clinical, leadership and research roles.
Sophie is currently Divisional Medical Director of Mental Health at Austin Health, and has held previous leadership roles at Orygen, Melbourne Health and in North Western Mental Health.
Sophie will join the Department of Health on 15 July 2024.
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Introducing Esther McCarthy, Senior Social Worker
My name is Esther McCarthy and I am an accredited mental health social worker and have worked in various roles in public mental health over the years for case manager to team leader.I have always enjoyed supporting and mentoring new clinicians starting off their careers in mental health services. I am currently the Mental Health and Wellbeing Act (MHWA) and Freedom of Information (FOI) Coordinator at Western Health. My role has two parts to it, one I review FOI applications for mental health clinical files and ensure that the requests are processed in accordance with legislative requirements of the Freedom of Information Act. The other part of my role is to support Western Health to be compliant with the legislative requirements outline in the MHWA 2022.
I work part-time at Western Health and on my day off I work in private practice and have strong interest in working with consumers with complex trauma.
Please reach out via Esther.McCarthy@wh.org.au if you have any questions regarding my role and how I can support you.
-Esther
Senior Social Worker, Mental Health and Wellbeing Services
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Homelessness and Mental Health
Stable housing is essential to the maintenance of good mental health and people becoming homeless is one of the main reasons for their mental health deteriorating. This article aims to explore the issue of homelessness for our consumers of inpatient and community mental health services and highlight some strategies that are being developed to address the issue.Many of the local Government Areas within our catchment experienced a significant increase in homelessness between 2016 and 2021, as documented in the Council to Homeless Persons’ Census Analysis report including Melton 134%, Sydenham 22% and Sunbury 21%.
Research of 4000 people experiencing homelessness in Melbourne found that 15% of them had mental health issues prior to becoming homeless, often due to the breakdown of family relationships, and 16% developed mental health issues after becoming homeless as a consequence of their experiences of being homeless.
A recent report called “Homelessness across NorthWestern Mental Health Inpatient Units” (1) confirmed that homelessness is an increasing problem with 11.3% of the 1898 consumers admitted to the five adult IPU’s during the data collection periods between November 2020 and November 2021, were homeless and a further 13% of them were at imminent risk of homelessness. This research indicated that a significant number of consumers (47% of 432 were homeless or at risk of becoming homeless) were discharged into homelessness. This occurred due to a range of factors but is largely the result of the demand pressures IPU’s face and the limited options for safe, appropriate, and secure housing. These statistics are even more significant when you consider that the collection period was during the Covid-19 Pandemic when the Victorian government made considerable effort to house people who were sleeping rough or living in homeless shelter accommodation.
Part of the role of Social Workers in IPU settings is to find crisis accommodation for consumers, however there are few resources available and the funding and resources are very limited for the level of demand. The lack of a Specialist Homeless Mental Health Community Team in the West, means people who are transient are sometimes lost to follow-up when they are referred to ACIS or for Case Management with the Community Mental Health Services. The shortage of suitable housing resources for consumers, emphasizes the need for clinicians to case manage consumers in the community and consider a plan to maintain their current housing as an aspect of their Recovery and Wellness Planning process. It is recognised fluctuations in mental illness impacts consumers’ relationships with carers and family and affects the sustainability of their housing security.
Research indicates that involving families in care improves consumer outcomes and this work requires early intervention in the episode of care rather than being crisis driven. WH Family Violence Specialist Zanetta Hartley has recently initiated a Special Interest Group to recognise the family violence that many carers experience in their role and develop strategies to support them better.
A key recommendation of the IPU Report on Homelessness was for mental health services to establish or further develop partnerships with local housing services. MHWS Social Workers have commenced discussions with Social Housing and Support (SASHS) network, to develop a more collaborative approach towards the homelessness issue. The aim is to address the difficulties consumers and clinicians experience in accessing services and work together to deal with housing issues to avoid consumers becoming homeless. This relationship has led to secondary consultations between our services that recognises our specialist skills. WH social workers now also have access to a new housing database that provides access to different accommodation options across the northwest. A successful outcome of this partnerships prevented a consumer and her children being evicted from public housing, as the family was able to be prioritised for a housing outreach support worker and contact was made with the Office of Housing.
Some of the strategies discussed in this article are in the early stages of development but aim to address the range of issues that affect our consumers maintaining sustainable housing.
We hope that over time, they will assist to support resource allocation to help our consumers to secure long-term accommodation that is essential for their recovery.
1. Homelessness across NorthWestern Mental Health Inpatient Units, Newbold and Migliorini 2021.
Brian Sardeson, Senior Social Worker, Central Community, Mental Health and Wellbeing Services
Audrey Ciappara, Senior Social Worker, Sunshine Mental Health and Wellbeing Centre.
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MHAOD training
An online training program designed for Victorian Mental Health and Alcohol and Other Drug (AOD) workforces.
- Module 1: Introduction to Co-Occurring Conditions
- Module 2: Therapeutic Relationships, are now available.
Registrations for the initial two modules are now available via https://monash.guroo.academy/listing/hcitc
If you have any queries about the modules, please do not hesitate to contact education@hamiltoncentre.org.au
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ACT in Public Mental Health forum 23 April 2024
ACT in Public Mental Health forum 23 April 2024 – Mental Health Training and Development Unit (MHTDU)
This forum, emphasizing practical skill development and active participation, aims to offer straightforward and effective methods for seamlessly incorporating Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) principles into your daily responsibilities within public mental health. An opportunity to gain insights from your peers regarding how to tailor core ACT processes to enhance your interactions with consumers and carers.
For further information, please see event flyer ACT in Public Mental Health Forum 2024
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A Positive Workplace at Western Health
The April newsletter covers the following topics
- EMPOWIR
- Peer Support
- Psychological Safety
- What’s Happening
- Helpful Tips
- Manager Assist Promotion / EAP
For more information on EMPOWIR – EAP – Peer Support – Mental Health and Wellbeing can be found :
A Positive Workplace at Western Health (sharepoint.com) -
Collaborative Centre e-News: March 2024
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An update on mental health and wellbeing reform
An update from the Deputy Secretary, Mental Health and Wellbeing, Katherine Whetton
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Report: Recommendations to strengthen perinatal mental health screening
A new report has been released outlining recommendations to strengthen perinatal mental health screening in Victoria.
Pregnancy and the first couple of years following birth can be a challenging time for parents, carers and families, with an increased prevalence of mental ill health.
The Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System identified a need to review approaches to perinatal mental health screening to address inclusivity, cultural appropriateness, and the therapeutic context of screening (recommendation 18.2).
In response to the recommendation, the Victorian Department of Health commissioned a review of the evidence to improve perinatal mental health screening.
The Summary Report sets out key findings and recommendations that aim to strengthen screening practice, build workforce capability and confidence, and improve experiences and continuity of care.
The department has established a project team to take the work forward and will bring together an external Expert Advisory Group to help develop the Victorian perinatal mental health screening guidelines.
The Summary Report to the Review of Perinatal Mental Health Screening Approaches can be found on the Department of Health’s website.
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Digital Health – March 2024 newsletter