ATODS and Mental Health

Acute care service (ACS) function as the first point of contact to public mental health services. Following triage, they facilitate the most appropriate type of care for the individual.

The ACS provides a multidisciplinary mental health service to consumers with acute care needs in a community setting. The majority of ACS service provision occurs in the consumer’s home, a community clinic, a general practice (GP) or other nominated place. In expectational circumstances, service provision may be delivered via an emergency department (ED).

The community care service (CCS) provide multidisciplinary community mental health assessment and treatment services to people who are affected by mental illness, their family/significant others and carers.

This service is provided with a recovery-oriented approach that is person-centred, strengths based, collaborative and empowering. There is an emphasis on consumer choice, building resilience and enhancing opportunities for social inclusion. The CCS operates on the premise that consumers can and do recover from mental illness.

Child and Youth Mental Health Service (CYMHS) provide a comprehensive response to the different and varying needs of infants, children and young people with mental health problems or mental disorders and their families/carers in the community. The families and carers to these young people play a significant role in the mental health care process.

 The CYMHS exist within the spectrum of integrated mental health services and other health services. These services are provided within a recovery-oriented approach that emphasises individual strengths, builds resilience and enhances opportunities for social inclusion.  The CYMHS operate on the premise that infants, children and young people can and do recover from mental health problems and mental disorders.

The Child and Youth Mental Health Service delivers services specialising in the assessment and treatment of children and young people (0 to 18 years of age) who are experiencing, or at risk of developing, sever and complex emotional, behavioural or mental health problems.  Specialist support is provided by:

• Empowering consumers and their families to direct their own recovery journey
• Assessing level of risk (e.g. self-harm, suicide and/or aggression) during regular case management contact
• Providing therapeutic intervention
• Integrating cross-sectoral service responses that ensure effective transitions of care
• Supporting families and carers to access the right support at the right time

Building high levels of mental health literacy and understanding and support children and young people participate in the community

The COS delivers service that provides timely and comprehensive mental health assessment and treatment services to people living in the rural and remote communities within NWHHS within a recovery orientated approach.

The key functions of the COS are:

• Provision of assertive, recovery-orientated assessment and clinical interventions that minimise the impact of mental illness on consumers, their families/significant others and carers, who are living in remote communities
• Ensuring ease of accessibility, in a timely manner, to specialist mental health services

Promotion of suicide prevention strategies

Mental Health Services are responsible for the provision of comprehensive, specialised mental health assessment and treatment services for people who are experiencing severe mental health issues across the age-spectrum.  The Service provides a range of services including crisis intervention, psychiatric services, homeless health, outreach and a specialised mental health service for children and young people and their families using a recovery-oriented approach.

Mental Health is a multi-disciplinary team consisting of administration staff, psychiatrists, nurses, social workers, psychologists, health workers, and liaison officers. The team also has staff located in:

Court Liaison Service

Court Liaison provides mental health screening, advice and referral for people detained in the watch house plus Soundness of Mind and Fitness for Trial reports for people appearing before the magistrate’s court.

Evolve Service

Evolve delivers coordinated support services to children and young people in statutory care with severe and complex needs to improve their emotional wellbeing and skills development to participate in school and their community.

Tackling Regional Adversity through Connected Communities (TRACC)

The goals of this program are to reduce the mental health impact of drought and disaster-related adversity and community crisis, reduce stigma and other barriers to mental health care, and to enhance the natural resilience of individuals and regional communities in the face of adversity.  The priority action areas are to:

• Connect people to the right care at the right time and place;
• Connect people to information and programs to raise mental health awareness;
• Connect ‘frontline’ workers to mental health awareness training to improve referral practices; and
• Connect the community to initiatives to ensure better preparedness for current and future adversities.

Consumer Consultant (Mental Health)

Consumer Consultants are here to ensure consumer’s best interests are respected in all aspects and levels of care. They work with consumers as well as their families and support networks throughout their journey with the clinical team, from the consumer/carers point of view.  They recognise how important it is to understand what is going on with the consumer and/or their carer every step of the way.  This is their journey and their voice is key.

They can also help with accessing other appropriate services, recognising it can be difficult to navigate things at times without some support.  You may see them out and about in the community, working with other local support groups promoting understanding, educating and raising awareness of mental health issues and how these can affect each and every one of us.

Whilst this position is based in Mount Isa, they can travel and are only a phone call or email away.