Committees
NSW CAG sits on a range of state committees to ensure that the views of mental health consumers are heard by policy and decision makers. A list of the current committees we sit on is below. To find out more about what the committee is about and what is happening in each committee, click on the title of the committee
Consumer Sub-Committee to the Mental Health Program Council
Mental Health consumers now have the opportunity to further influence mental health policies and programs at a statewide level in NSW through the convening of the Consumer Sub-Committee of the Program Council.
Run as a partnership between the NSW Consumer Advisory Group-Mental Health Inc. (NSW CAG) and the Mental Health and Drug and Alcohol Office (MHDAO), NSW Health Department, the Consumer Sub-Committee enables mental health consumers to provide advice to MHDAO and the Mental Health Program Council on mental health policies and programs throughout NSW and where relevant, at a national level. The role of the Consumer Sub-Committee is to provide advice to the NSW Mental Health Program Council on policy, planning and strategic issues relating to mental health consumers in NSW.
The Mental Health Program Council is the governing body for all public mental health services and programs conducted in NSW. It provides advice and makes recommendations on the full range of finance, activity and management issues of the mental health program in NSW. Members of the Program Council include the Area Mental Health Directors, the NSW Chief Psychiatrist and other key state representatives. Prior to the Sub-Committee being convened, there was a definite lack of consumer representaion at the Program Council level in NSW.
The Consumer Sub-Committee is currently comprise of ten consumer representatives, with an additional four positions currently in the process of being recruited. NSW CAG highlighted the need for wide consumer representation on the Sub-Committee, and as a result the interests of many different mental health consumers are specifically represented, including:
- People of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islanders
- People from a cultural or linguistically diverse background
- NGO mentl health sector
- Young people
- Consumers of forensic mental health services
- People who are not employed in a permanent consumer position
- People over the age of 65 years
- People with an intellectual disability
- People in same sex relationships
- Consumer workers currently employed in a rural or remote Area Mental Health Service
- Consumer workers currently employed in a metropolitan Area Mental Health Service
- Chair of the Consumer Worker's Forum
Members of the Sub-Committee are provided with the opportunity to influence all mental health policies and services in NSW and to raise issues important to them with the Mental Health Program Council, NSW CAG and MHDAO.
Members of the Sub-Committee are required to provide information to their networks as appropriate on matters put foward for discussion at the Sub-Committee, and also to consult with their networks on issues as they arise.
NSW CAG considers the establishment of this Committee as an important step in the realisation of genuine consumer participation at all levels within the NSW mental health system. For the first time it enables, consumer participation at the highest level of policy and service develpment in NSW.
This Sub-Committee has a rare opportunity to shape consumer participation in mental health services for the future in NSW, through the development of a Framework for Consumer, Carer and Community Participation in Mental Health. This project will involve comprehensive consultaions to ensure the development of a suitable framework. It will also consider the work of the Consumer Workers' Forum Project. At this stage the Framework is to be delivered by mid 2011. This is an exciting development that can only help to improve services for mental health consumers in NSW, ensure genuine consumer participation within mental health services, and expand the influence and role of the consumer movement.
| Your Representative | Name |
| Consumer of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander decent | Geraldine Ardler |
| Consumer of a culturally or linguistically diverse background | Lily Wu |
| Consumer Working in the NGO Sector | Cindi Rees |
| Young Consumers | Rebecca Molika and one vacant |
| Consumer of forensic mental health services | Wayne Kennedy |
| Consumers who are not employed in a permanent consumer position | Fay Jackson |
| Consumers who are over the age of 65 years | Vacant |
| Consumers who have an intellectual disability | Vacant |
| Consumers representing those in the same sex relationship | Vacant |
| Consumer workers currently employed in a rural or remote Area Mental Health Service |
Anne Francis |
| Consumer workers currently employed in a metropolitan Area Mental Health Service | Paula Hanlon |
| Chair of the Consumer Worker's Forum | Douglas Holmes |
To contact your representative, please contact NSW CAG on 02 9332 0200, email info@nswcag.org.au.
NSW CAG representation on Commonwealth Committees
National Mental Health Consumer and Carer Forum (NCCF)
NSW CAG representation on State Committees
APQ6 Implementation Steering Committee (NSW Health)
Chronic and Continuing Care, Rehabilitation and Recovery Working Group (NSW Health)
Council of Social Service of NSW (NCOSS) Health Policy Advice Group
Mental Health Legal Services Project Steering Committee (PIAC)
NSW Health Care Complaints Commission Consumer Consultative Committee
NSW Joint Guarantee of Service (JGOS) for people with Mental Health Problems and Disorders living in Aboriginal, Community and Public Housing
NSW Mental Health Promotion Advisory Committee (Mental Health Association)
NSW Smoke Free Mental Health Taskforce Committee
State Mental Health Telephone Access Line Steering Committee (NSW Health)
APQ6 Steering Committee
The APQ6 is a questionnaire that has been developed by NSW Health to measure vocational and community participation by mental health consumers. Amongst other things this was in response to the NSW State Plan commitment to increasing community participation by adults with mental illness.
The APQ6 comprises of six questions about activites under taken in the past week; covering
Work - paid & unpaid or seeking work
Education
Community/social activities
Desire for change and how the health services can assist
Testing of the reliability of the APQ6 was successfully performed in Queensland & NSW with 125 people completing the survey twice to ensure that people answer consistently overtime. The majority of consumers found the APQ6 an acceptable tool and were very confident in their answers. Improvements to the tool have been made based on consumer feedback.
The questionnaire is not compulsory for people to complete. Information gathered through the questionnaire is analysed by NSW Health and reported back to services. The purpose is to assess levels of social participation and to assist in increasing this. The APQ6 is now being made available as an optional tool, so that interested services can begin to use it.
Chronic and Continuing Care, Rehabilitation and Recovery Working Group (CCCRRWG)
This working Group is one of three major platforms guiding the direction of mental health policy in NSW.
CCCRRWGs Key Priority Areas include:
- To build on the rehabilitation, supported accommodation and other relevant frameworks to further their implementation across NSW Health.
- To develop and facilitate the implementation of best practice through development of indicators, standards, protocols and clinical excellence in continuing and non-acute mental health care.
- To monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of services for people with ongoing mental illness.
- To examine the applicability of chronic care models from the physical health care field to mental health (eg: National Chronic Disease framework, NSW Chronic Care models).
- To further develop the non-government (NGO) mental health sector.
- To link with:
- Existing interdepartmental committees and interdepartmental processes
- Other Strategic Working Groups
- The relevant Senior Officers' Group
- To develop a work plan including Key Performance Indicators against which the Strategic Working Group will be assessed.
CCCRRWGs Current Projects include:
- Rollout of the recently published Community Mental Health Strategy
- Benchmarking and Best Practice subcommittee - identifying KPIs and future directions for non-acute inpatient care in NSW
- Non Acute In Patient Unit (NAIPU) Strategy to be approved by Mental Health Program Council, NSW Health Director General and the Health Minister;
- The strategy proposes that long term inpatient services be based on a recovery oriented model, acknowledging that recovery is not about the absence of symptoms, but a personally determined journey. The draft strategy uses a holistic framework, considering how mental illness impacts on the whole of the person's life, and the broad range of needs they may have including accommodation, education, social skills, relationships, and parenting skills.
- The strategy also reinforces the need for consumer, carer and family participation in the development, implementation, delivery and evaluation of mental health services.
CCCRRWG membership comprises representatives from rural and metropolitan Area Health Services, Forensic Mental Health, Mental Health Coordinating Council (MHCC), InforMH, NSW Consumer Advisory Group (NSW CAG) and NSW Health.
NSW CAG sits on the CCCRRWG representing the interests of consumers of NSW Mental Health Service.
Mental Health Legal Services Projects Advisory Committee
The Mental Health Legal Services (MHLS) project funded by the NSW Public Purpose Fund aims to research and pilot access models for legal services for mental health consumers. The goal is to improve legal service delivery to people who experience mental illness. The project is under the auspice of, and project managed by, the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC)
The project currently has 2 consumer representatives (one from NSW CAG) on its advisory committee. Thus far the pilot projects that have been identified and applications for funding made are:
A social work service at Shopfront
A legal service at the Multicultural Disability Advocacy Association
Developing the Gamarada Indigenous Men's Healing Program
Training: a series of training options for consumers and providers is currently being reviewed and will be tabled shortly
The MHLS project is well aligned to NSW CAG focus areas for 2008:
Changing attitudes - ensuring legal service providers are better informed in regards to needs and service delivery methods
Enhancing participation - the project currently has two consumer representatives on it.
Strengthening community services-this project has a direct purpose to provide additional community services (legal)
Focusing on recovery orientation - it supports access to needed services and is focused on seeing the person as a whole through its range of service provision models
The project will be submitting funding requests for next year and beyond.
Recently project members have made a visit to F.L.A.M.E.S., a forensic patient group at Morrisset Hospital. There was significant misinformation that the inpatients held, and they expressed their difficulty with advocacy services being untimely and too short. There was also misinformation about the Official Visitor's Program. In fact many of the people in the room did not understand the scheme and PIAC were going to investigate the terms of reference and outcome measures for the Official Visitor's Program. There has been significant discussion around the new legislation regarding forensic patients and their rights. Further follow up will be occurring in this area.
Official Visitors Advisory Committee
This committee provides advice regarding all aspects of the Official Visitor's Program. Official Visitors are engaged under the Mental Health Act (the Act) to ensure the adequate standards of care and treatment, and the rights and dignity of people who are being treated under the Act. This includes people who are in involuntary treatment within inpatient services or on Community Treatment Orders.
NSW CAG's role at this committee is to ensure that the views of consumers are heard and central to any decision in all recommendations, policies, and practice of the Program.
State Mental Health Telephone Access Line (SMHTAL) Program
The Improvement Project Summary
Background
In NSW: A new direction for Mental Health (June 2006) a commitment was made to provide a 24-hour NSW mental health telephone access line. The line would provide advice, triage and referral service and be staffed by mental health clinicians and be linked to the National Health Call Centre Network, operating as healthdirect Australia. The State Mental Health Telephone Access Line (SMHTAL) Program was developed to fulfil this commitment. NSW CAG has a representative sitting on the Steering Committee.
Overview of the Improvement Project
The SMHTAL Program is to be implemented by an Improvement Project which will improve consumer access to appropriate mental health services through two stages:
Stage 1 The establishment of a single state wide 1800 Mental Health telephone number operating 24 hours a day, 7 days a week..
Calls to the 1800 number will be answered by a message presenting the caller with a number of options to choose from. One option will be for the caller to be transferred to the closest Area Health Service mental health telephone triage service. This will be answered by a mental health professional specialised in conducting a telephone triage assessment.
Stage 2 Improving the operation of existing Area Health Service mental health telephone triage services so that they are able to meet state wide service Standards.
Adherence to these Standards will ensure that, among other matters, calls are answered promptly, and are answered by a MH professional who has access to current records, and to a local resource database. Adherence to these Standards will be monitored by the Mental Health and Drug & Alcohol Office, NSW Department of Health.
Implementation of the Improvement Project
It is anticipated that Stage 1 will be commence from late February 2009. Stage 2 will be rolled out over 12 months from March 2009.