Better Sooner More Convenient Primary Care - New Zealand Doctor

6 Deliverables / activities
Following the WHO model 55 , patients in primary health care with mental health problems will
have their health needs identified and assessed and will be offered effective treatments,
including referral to specialist services for further assessment, treatment and care, if they
require it.
To achieve this standard, each primary care group will need to work with the support of
specialised mental health services to:
develop the resources within each practice to assess mental health needs
develop the resources to work with diverse groups in the population
develop the skills and competencies to manage common mental health problems
agree the arrangements for referral for assessment, advice or treatment and care
have the skills and necessary organisational systems to provide the physical healthcare
and other primary care support needed, as agreed in their care plan, for people with
severe mental illness.
This plan works towards a model of care that includes in the short term:
single point of entry for those referred to mental health services 56
primary mental health co-ordinators review all adult community referrals, and make the
decision as to whether the initial assessment is best carried out by themselves or the
specialist MH team
an increase overtime in the assessments done in primary care until all are done by the
coordinators
provision of different packages of care available depending on need and ethnicity,
ranging from community support to psychiatric assessment
increased access by tangata whaiora to Kaupapa Māori mental health services
development of processes for shared care
review of discharge planning processes with the IFHC teams
all mental health workers seeing patients within IFHCs.
Integration of primary and secondary mental health services within IFHCs will be explored in
year two.
55 DoH (1999) „A National Service Framework for Mental Health: Modern Standards and Service Models‟. London
accessed on 16/2/2010 at
http://www.dh.gov.uk/prod_consum_dh/groups/dh_digitalassets/@dh/@en/documents/digitalasset/dh_4077209.pdf
56 Patients assessed by General Practice Teams as needing only Brief Intervention Counselling (BIC), and meeting
specified entry criteria, will go directly to BIC providers
Business case appendices V12 AC 25Feb2010 Page 94