The Eyre Peninsula Division of General Practice current contracts the services of three psychologists working across Whyalla, Pt Lincoln and Ceduna to provide Focussed Psychological Strategies (FPS) to appropriately referred patients. FPS are specific mental health care treatment strategies, derived from evidence based psychological therapies. They have been shown to integrate the best research evidence of clinical effectiveness with general practice clinical expertise.

These services are deliverable:
• Up to six time-limited sessions (minimum requirement of 30 minutes per session).
• An option for up to a further six sessions following a review by the referring GP of the original Mental Health Care Plan.

Referral for psychological services under the BOiMHC initiative requires the development of a Mental Health Care Plan and appropriate referral via the Divisional provided template. The divisional template captures demographic and medical information and also acts as a means of gathering information for the minimum data set, a requirement of the BOiMHC projects.

Pilots for both Telephone CBT and Videophone CBT began in Whyalla in late 2008 and are expected to increase capacity in 2009.

For more information on The Better Outcomes and Better Access Initiatives please visit the Department of Health and Ageing and Australian General Practice Network websites.

Links
http://www.health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/Content/mental-boimhc
http://www.agpn.com.au/site/index.cfm?display=2550