Report of the Chief psychiatrist's investigation of inpatient deaths during 2008-2010 including methodology, findings and recommended systems and clinical practice improvements.

Download: Chief Psychiatrist's investigation of inpatient deaths 2008-2010 (pdf)_

The Queensland Mental Health Commission has released its first Report.

Download:: Queensland Mental Health Commission first Report.

Media Release – New National Mental Health Commission

Australia’s first National Mental Health Commission, launched Jan 23, 2012 has been welcomed by Mental Health Carers Arafmi Australia (MHCAA).MHCAA Executive Officer, Warren Jenkins, said the Commission came at a time of significant change and hoped-for improvement in mental health in Australia. 

The launch coincides with the first nationwide survey to grade Australia's mental health services and the release of the draft 10-year Roadmap for Mental Health.

Mr Jenkins said Mr Butler had acknowledged that the mental health system is "characterised by bad planning and service gaps". The survey would allow carers to express their viewpoint about service delivery matters which the MHCAA welcomes. Mr Jenkins said he welcomed comments by Mental Health Minister Mark Butler that the report card from the survey would cast a spotlight on mental health through surveying people with a mental illness and their carers.

“For most people with a mental illness, carers are vital.  Including carers as partners in the decision-making process at government, hospital and medical practitioner levels is crucial,” he said.

“MHCAA, representing six Arafmi mental health carer organisations across Australia, is ready to assist in gathering carer support for the national survey.

“The new $32 million Commission, with Professor Allan Fels AO at its head, provides a stronger co-ordinating focus and change-of-direction that is welcomed by the many people directly and indirectly impacted by mental health issues.”

“Professor Fels has said the Commission will provide cross-sector leadership in mental health and drive transparency and accountability in the system to deliver better outcomes for consumers and carers which we wholeheartedly support.”

Mr Jenkins noted that Professor Fels is MHCAA’s patron and is himself carer of a daughter with a mental illness.

“We also welcome the appointment of Ms Jackie Crowe, a carer, as a member of the Commission. MHCAA will work closely with her to ensure that the carer viewpoint is understood on this national body.

“With one-in-five Australians touched by mental issues, the implications are clearly profound for the rest of the nation with its two million carers,” he said.
Media contact: Mr Jenkins is available for media interview. Phone 0400 340 100

The Australian Government is seeking public opinion on the draft Ten Year Roadmap for National Mental Health Reform (the Roadmap) via an online survey. 

The Roadmap is a key component of the Australian Government's Delivering National Mental Health Reform Package of the 2011-12 Budget, and the draft has been developed with states and territories, informed by input from mental health experts, including mental health consumers and carers. 

The survey will be available from 16 January 2012 until 7pm AEDST 1 February 2012

Draft Ten Year Roadmap for National Mental Health Reform

Adult Mental Health - Guidelines for Quality Experience  UK NHS
The aim of this quality standard and guidance is to improve the experience for people using adult mental health services in the NHS (UK). This area is still, sadly, associated with stigma and embarrassment, despite 1 in 4 people in the UK suffering with a mental health problem at some stage in their lives.

Improving the experience of care for people using adult NHS mental health services Clinical guidelines, CG136 - Issued: December 2011 This clinical guidance offers evidence-based advice on ensuring a good experience of care for people who use adult NHS mental health services.

We have also published a quality standard describing high-quality care for adults using mental health services in the NHS in England.Web format

NICE Guideline (PDF)

Full Guideline

Patient version (PDF

CG136 Service user experience in adult mental health: understanding NICE guidance
14 December 2011

The Mental Health Council of Australia (MHCA) has launched a survey targeting young mental health carers on Facebook (www.facebook.com/youngcarersproject).

The Young Carers Project (YCP) survey app aims to collect information from young mental health carers about their caring role; what sort of caring activities they undertake; how caring impacts on their day-to-day lives; what supports are available to young mental health carers in their area; and the appropriateness of these supports.

All young mental health carers aged 13 to 18 in Australia are eligible to participate in the YCP survey app. The MHCA is also offering a $20 pre-paid VISA gift card to survey participants in recognition of their time and contribution. The app will remain live on Facebook until the start of February 2012, or until 1,000 responses are collected.

The MHCA welcomes any support in disseminating information about this groundbreaking research and bringing to the fore the experiences of young mental health carers in Australia. Requests for further information, including promotional material, online banners and graphics should be emailed through to Kate Judd This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

This briefing, (from UK) outlines a number of routes that mental health providers and housing associations may wish to explore together to improve quality and reduce costs. A settled home is vital for good mental health. People with mental health problems are far less likely to be homeowners and far more likely to live in unstable environments.
Support with housing can improve the health of individuals and help reduce overall demand for health and social care services. Ensuring service users have a suitable and settled place to live can aid recovery from mental health problems.

Key points from the report include:

• Good housing is critical for good mental health
• No health without mental health (the cross-government mental health outcomes strategy) stresses the importance of housing for mental health
• Without a settled place to live, recovery can be significantly impeded
• Financial pressure increases the need to innovate and deliver services in more cost effective ways
• Addressing housing need within the care pathway can contribute to meeting the QIPP (Quality, Innovation, Productivity and Prevention) challenge
• By working in partnership, mental health providers and housing associations can deliver better outcomes for service users

Taken from:: The UK NHS Mental Health Network .
Download:: Full report Housing and mental health (PDF). NHS Confederation Mental Heath Network, 6 Dec 2011

Drugs in Australia 2010 assembles the most recently available information about tobacco, alcohol and other drugs in Australia from a variety of data sources.
Download:: Read the summary and download the report here.

A FREE online book for partners of women with puerperal psychosis (also refered to as post-natal or post-partum psychosis). Written by a carer partner this provides helpful and practical information for carers of women with this relatively rare, but significant mental illness.

Download:: Puerperal psychosis - A carer's survival guide
Also an excellent collection of resources on Post Natal Depression on ABC website

The People Living with Psychotic Illness 2010 study, the largest of its kind ever undertaken in Australia, found that psychotic illness affects around one in every 200 Australians every year and that 90% of people affected report a deterioration in their ability to function in their daily life – be it cooking, cleaning, managing their finances or working. comprehensive study of thousands of people with psychotic illness provides compelling evidence of the need to provide more support and better-coordinated community mental health services in Australia.

Focusing on clients of public mental health services, the study found that, despite being in treatment, four out of ten of the 64,000 adult Australians with a psychotic illness continue to experience delusions and a third currently experience hallucinations.

Almost half of all Australians with a psychotic illness are obese, two thirds smoke and over half have problems with alcohol and drug abuse and dependence.

Particularly troubling is the finding that nearly a quarter of people with psychotic illness reported being lonely and one in eight had no friends at all.

Around half of people with psychotic illness have attempted suicide at some time. This is over ten times the rate in the general population.

The study reveals changes in the delivery of mental health services since the previous survey in 1997- 98, principally related to the ongoing, if uneven, shift from hospital to community-based care.

There have also been modest but real improvements including a halving of the number of people homeless in the last 12 months (from 13% in 1998 to 5%) and a 60% increase in the number of people using rehabilitation programs.

There remains vast scope for improvement in physical and mental health services if we are to help people with these serious illnesses find somewhere decent to live, work to do and friends to share their lives with.

The study was commissioned by the Australian Government, Department of Health and Ageing.
Download:: People Living with Psychotic Illness – A SANE Response