MHSPAOD Plan

This year has focused on the active implementation of the five year (2021–2026) Mental Health, Suicide Prevention, Alcohol and other Drug Services Regional Plan for Western Queensland (Regional MHSPAOD Plan) with key mental health consortia partners.

This includes ongoing consultation opportunities for key interested parties in each community across the Western Queensland region. The engagement process is an example of the WQPHN’s values and placed-based approach to planning.

Planning with the sub-regions of key services and supports in a coordinated and integrated way maximises existing strengths, resources, and infrastructure, and highlights the diverse needs across all areas serviced by the WQPHN.

The plan also highlights the unique issues that Western Queensland communities face to inform broader policy responses, as the WQPHN and their partners prioritise areas for service system development and reform to meet the requirements of individuals, families and communities.  

A two day planning workshop was held in Brisbane on 28 February – 1 March 2023, with a strong shared desire to tackle the big issues faced in the MHSPOAD space in Western Queensland.

Discussions included the importance of taking the time to set the foundations for the work of the Regional MHSPAOD Plan consortia. As partners in the MHSPAOD planning, stakeholders agreed to establish a strong foundation for the partnership through developing a Consortia Roadmap and Operating Summary. WQPHN have been working on supporting the draft governance model and ways of working for the Consortia to review and refine together.

Some key strategic drivers for the development of the Implementation Plan include:

• Determining the implications of the bilateral agreements (particularly in relation to the Queensland Health Better Care Together Plan);
• Release of the Federal budget; and
• Developments for primary care as a result of the Strengthening Medicare reforms.

These and other drivers have significant implications for ways to move forward collectively with the Regional MHSPAOD Plan implementation.

headspace Clinics

headspace centres are funded to deliver services to young people 12-25, who are requiring a range of supports across several areas – including mental health, vocational education, sexual health, alcohol and other drug use.

Gidgee Healing is the lead agency for headspace Mount Isa.  The centre continues to be at the forefront, implementing the headspace Early Careers program, ensuring practitioners who are in the early phase of their career have access to quality learning, supervision and support in regional and remote headspace sites. This program ensures access to clinical staff into the future as part of a workforce development and retention strategy for headspaces in remote areas.

Key Activities from headspace Mount Isa include:

• Two graduate social workers commenced their roles at the Mount Isa centre. Their presence has contributed to the rise in the number of young people receiving assistance from the center. Both graduates have extended past the twelve months of their formal program, demonstrating the program's success in rural and remote areas.
• Several university graduate placements, primarily from James Cook University, continued to work at the centre.

• Continued to implement the Moderated Online Social Therapy (MOST) program - digital therapy support for young people going through challenging times who may need help with issues such as mental health, employment, study and training, friendship/peer support and family relationships.
• Received enhancement funding under the National Bilateral, which will be targeted in the coming year at increasing accessibility of youth mental health services for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people.
• Submitted their headspace Model Integrity Framework audit, in May 2023. This is a significant achievement for the centre, and ensures a consistent model and quality of care for young people accessing headspaces.

headspace Roma continues to exceed headspace National's expectations in the number of services delivered to young people in the region, evidencing strong engagement and partnerships with the local community, and youth participation, as well as a passion for delivering the much-needed services to young people in Roma.

Key Activities from headspace Roma include:

• Delivered the YOLO Conference on 22/23 June 2023. YOLO (You Only Live Once) conference, which is one of its kind nationally, was attended by headspace National CEO, Jason Trethowan.  The event was hosted by RHealth, lead agency commissioned by Western Queensland PHN to deliver vital mental health and wellbeing services across our region.  The two-day community engagement was an enormous success, and was attended by local, national and international Keynote Speakers, young people from the headspace Youth Reference Group and the general community, headspace Consortia members and other stakeholders, as well as local service oganisations and the WQPHN.  The event covered topics such as “Art as a tool”, “So you are a Young Parent”, “NDIS and Young People”, and “Bullying and Body Image”.  
• Encouraged participants to continue to work in collaboration to meet the challenges and barriers experienced by young people in their life journey, in a way that adds value to their experience in response to unique and evolving needs.

Overall, headspace centres in the Western Queensland PHN region saw an increase in the servicing of young people from the previous year (423 up from 413 last year),and an increase in young people returning to the centres (179, up from 129 last year).

The primary presenting reason for young people accessing headspace centres in Western Queensland were for mental health (low intensity and psychological/medical intervention), physical and sexual health, vocational support and general assistance.

Young people also have access to AOD specific support and support to families and carers of young people at each of the centres.

WiSE Telehealth e-Psychiatry Program

The WiSE headspace telehealth e-psychiatry program is a free service launched by WQPHN in collaboration with headspace National Youth Foundation.

The program was developed to ensure young people living in rural, regional and remote areas can access a psychiatrist via online consultations in a timely manner, reducing barriers such as the expense associated with access to a highly qualified clinical workforce specialising in young peoples’ mental health, and support to families and carers.

The WiSE service also supports the WQPHN region by providing secondary consultations to professionals who may require upskilling or advice, including GP’s who are treating young people with high needs and more complex presentations.

Feedback from headspace services in our region include that clinicians found this service highly accessible and useful in guiding their practice. Young people were accessing their appointments more frequently, and liaison between the clinician, GP and psychiatrist ensured a collaborative and coordinated care arrangement, resulting in enhanced clinical outcomes in the youth mental health area.

Commonwealth Psychosocial Support Program (CPS)

WQPHN continues with innovative community-focused commissioning under the CPS Program.

Community-based service facilitators throughout WQPHN promote outreach programs to increase community awareness of Psychosocial Disability services. They also provide service navigation for direct pathways to services and participate in local events held by community organisations. The aim of the program is to ensure that communities are aware of services to make more informed choices about their health needs and promote continual improvements in health outcomes.

A total of 949 community members across the WQPHN patch engaged with the Community Services Facilitators with a total of 710 people referred on to additional services.

WQPHN Psychosocial Support Connectors work across the Western Queensland region to provide referrals and information to holistic wrap-around services for people who are experiencing mental illness.

The service assists with:

• Assistance with access to daily living and housing services
• Assistance with access to education, training or employment
• Assistance with physical wellbeing access
• Assistance to maintain engagement with mental health treatment
• Social connectedness access assistance
• Information, referral and advocacy

Clean Slate Clinic – Western Queensland

As part of a wider suite of alcohol and other drug capacity building, treatment and education services in Western Queensland, in 2022 WQPHN commissioned trialing the Clean Slate Clinic service.

Clean Slate is designed to support better access, and more choice for those wishing to safely reduce or cease their alcohol and other drug use with an at-home, private withdrawal (detox) option delivered by telehealth.

Getting access to timely, tailored and safe detox services in Western Queensland (particularly for those in employment) has been a challenge and can put off those wishing to take control of their relationship to alcohol and drugs. The trial report indicates that Clean Slate has already played an important role in supporting Western Queenslanders to improve their health and lives, and can reduce the need to leave the region to receive detox.

In 2022/23, 20 Clients were either referred or referred themselves to Clean Slate. Following assessment, 13 commenced and 9 progressed to detox and 8 to after care. The trial indicates that Clean Slate in Western Queensland can be safe and successfully provided. All clients post-detox were meeting their alcohol goals and measures of psychological distress reduced.

Clean Slate clients reported 100% satisfaction of the services and one recorded that

“the service from Dr Chris and Nurse Jenny was so amazing and supportive, I could not have done it without them” and another stated “it made detoxing for me easy. Without Clean Slate’s help I would not have detoxed at all”.

A well-regarded Longreach-based local alcohol and other drug Counsellor,  Deb Christian (from Lives Lived Well) had this to say

“One of my main highlights was liaising with Dr Chris from Clean Slate about trying to get their service out our way and then finding out they had negotiated with WQPHN to fund some places.  Some of my clients that used this service have had the best results and experiences, and was life-changing for them. The majority of them were working professionals who made use of the quicker detox, so it was a wonderful experience and a great outcome”.

While Clean Slate Clinic will not suit everyone in Western Queensland who requires medically managed detox and support, there is a developing evidence that it is improving access to, and safely providing needed detox care and support for those assessed as suited to the service.  Clean Slate offers another option to people who want to change their relationship with alcohol or other substances, without leaving their job, family and other commitments, or the region.  

Clean Slate also works closely and supports the person’s GP in detox and post-detox recovery, and in training GP’s and other health service providers in detox management.

The QNADA Project

AOD Capacity Support in Primary Care & General Practice

43% of Western Queenslanders 18 years of age and over exceed at least one of the Australian Alcohol Guidelines. This is seven percent higher than the state average, and 11% higher than the Darling Downs West Moreton region.

Primary health care services in Western Queensland often serve as the first point of contact for people who want support for their or a loved one’s alcohol and other drug (AOD) use.

Recognising both the disproportionate harm of alcohol and substance use in the region and the key role that place-based general primary health services play in supporting people to stay well, WQPHN began their partnership in 2021-22 with Queensland’s AOD peak body, QNADA (Queensland Network of Alcohol and Other Drug Agencies) to provide the QNADA AOD capacity development project, with the aims including to:

• Increase the knowledge and confidence of primary health care professionals in evidence-based prevention, care, treatment and referral for people experiencing AOD issues;
• Increase the use of screening and intervention tools in primary health care services in the region and embed these tools in practice workflow, and
• Improve rates of AOD occasions of care; such as individual patient requests for support, opportunistic screening and referrals.

The intention of the QNADA Project is to gradually grow primary health capacity and workforce confidence to engage with people experiencing concerns related to AOD use. The project builds on the previous AOD-focused capacity building provided by WQPHN (ASSIST and Insight AOD Starter Pack), and the RACGP/ACRRM AOD trainings delivered and promoted over the last couple of years.
 
The QNADA Project has supported primary health services and AICCHOs through the delivery, or continued planned provision, of activities including:

• Offering tailored onsite AOD-learning opportunities for primary health agency/clinic staff;
• training in key evidence-based AOD assessment tools;
• AOD development coaching and advice for individual primary health staff, and
• Formation and convening of sub-regional AOD networks strengthening the links and referral between generalist and AOD specialist health services.

What now?

The AOD Capacity Support in Primary/General Practice Project will continue to build on the work already undertaken.

The future direction will be refined to utilise evaluation findings and recommendations, including providing more preferred face-to-face engagement, and integration with and amplifying the work of, the state-wide GP AOD Capacity Project.   

Health in Gear

Western Queensland Truckie Wellbeing Project

Heavy truck drivers (truckies) are the second most at-risk occupational group (after the construction industry) for suicide. Truckies are also at high risk of chronic disease and experience disproportionately high personal relationship stressors and other psychosocial issues which are also important risk factors for suicidality.

Following a number of suicide-related deaths amongst Western Queensland truckies, Western Queensland Primary Health Network commissioned OzHelp to deliver a trial of its already developed evidence-based and truck driver-specific ‘Health in Gear’ (HiG) program at three key truck stop locations in Cloncurry, Winton and Morven over September 2002.

Aside from the opportunistic place-based offer of ‘Tune Ups’ the truckies were also offered resources to support access to ongoing counselling and other support through the HiG Support Line and referral to local primary, mental health and alcohol and other drug services. In Cloncurry 24 drivers engaged in a brief intervention “conversation” and four consented to a Tune Up health screening. While numbers were lower for Tune Ups in Winton and Morven truck stop locations, many drivers reported that they would be more willing to engage and to be screened having now understood who the ‘Health in Gear’ team was and if they returned to Western Queensland.

The trial of the acceptance of Health in Gear by truckies was positive and highlights the importance of development of a trusting relationship and/or recognised service ‘brand’ in Western Queensland.