Mental Health Nurse Service
General Practice Information
What is the Mental Health Nurse Service?
Through the Mental Health Nurse Service, the Division will engage Mental Health Nurses to assist in the provision of coordinated clinical care and treatment for people with severe mental health disorders.
The Mental Health Nurse will work closely with Psychiatrists and/or General Practitioners to assist with assessment and care planning and to provide ongoing care. There is no cost to the practice or the patient.
What does a Mental Health Nurse do?
- Establishes a therapeutic relationship with the patient.
- Provides assessment (complies with requirements of MBS item #2710 or #2702).
- Completes evidence based outcome tools and risk assessments, such as the Health of the Nation Outcome Scale (HoNOS).
- Contributes to the planning and care management of patients.
- Administers, monitors and ensures compliance by patients with their medication.
- Regularly reviews the patient’s mental state.
- Liaises closely with family and/or carers as deemed appropriate.
- Provides psycho education and supportive counselling for patient, family and/or carers.
- Facilitates linkages and coordinates services for the patient.
- Maintains links and if required case conferencing with GPs, Psychiatrists, psychologists and other service providers.
Which patients are eligible?
Eligible patients must:
- Be diagnosed with of a mental disorder according to the criteria defined in the World Health Organisation Diagnostic and Management Guidelines for Mental Disorder in Primary Care: ICD 10 Chapter V Primary Care Version or the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders –IV edition DSM IV, and
- Have a mental health disorder that causes significant disablement to ones social, personal and occupational functioning, and
- Have experienced at least one episode of hospitalisation for treatment of their mental disorder or is at risk of requiring hospitalisation in the future if appropriate treatment and care is not provided, and
- Require continuing treatment and management of their mental disorder over the next two years, and
- Agree that the GP or Psychiatrist is principally responsible for their clinical mental health care, and
- Provide consent to treatment from the Mental Health Nurse, and
- Is not currently case managed by Latrobe Regional Hospital Mental Health Services.
Referral
If a patient meets the eligibility criteria, the GP must:
- Explain to the patient they can see a Mental Health Nurse at the practice for free.
- Obtain consent to make a referral to the Mental Health Nurse.
- Make a referral to the Mental Health Nurse that is assigned to their practice.
Case Mix, Sessions and Caseloads
A session consists of 3.5 hours, with an average nurse caseload of at least two individual services to patients per session. A session may consist of clinical contact, case planning and coordination, interagency liaison, case notes and clinical briefings to relevant GP and/or psychiatrists.
A typical caseload for a Mental Health Nurse will consist of patients with different levels of care requirements that fall broadly into three groups:
- low (risk of relapse without clinical input)
- medium (active symptoms requiring close monitoring)
- high care (high risk of hospitalisation)
Review and Exit
Patient symptoms and functioning will be reviewed every three months. A patient will no longer be eligible for the service when they no longer require the clinical services of a mental health nurse or they become case managed by Latrobe Regional Hospital Mental Health Services
Safety
All sessions will be held in the general practice setting. It is imperative that the safety of the Mental Health Nurse in considered at all times.
The practice must:
- Enter into a contract with the Central West Gippsland Division of General Practice.
- Make sure that reception/administration staff are familiar with the appointment scheduling of Mental Health Nurse appointments.
- Be aware if an appointment is running over time or if voices are being raised.
- Provide a consulting room for the Mental Health Nurse that includes a computer with access to the relevant medical software package and a telephone.
Mental Health Nurse Service Patient Information
Further Information
Central West Gippsland Division of General Practice
Phone: 5126 2899
