Contact Andrew for more information on this program and our application to be part of the program.
PILOT - Mental Health Nurse Incentive Program
A New Model of Private Psychiatric Practice Service Delivery
"Benefiting psychiatrists and patients"
The Australian Government’s $191.6 million Mental Health Nurse Incentive Program (MHNIP) commenced on 1 July 2007. Recently the Department of Health and Ageing agreed to pilot a number of private hospital sites to ‘auspice’ the provision of specialist mental health nurses to their local private psychiatry practices.
Toowong Private Hospital (TPH) commenced the pilot program on 15 February 2008.
This exciting and important initiative will allow private psychiatrists who are members of the TPH Medical Council to participate in this innovative model of coordinated care without the worry of human resource and industrial relations matters.
Psychiatrists who are not current members of the TPH Medical Council are welcome to make application for membership to the TPH Medical Council and participate in the MHNIP by contacting the Executive Assistant to the CEO on 37218025.
The MHNIP recognises the importance of mental health nurses working in collaboration with private psychiatrists to provide support services such as monitoring patients’ mental state, medication management and improving patient links to other health professionals and clinical service providers.
The TPH Pilot of the MHNIP will enable mental health nurses to provide a range of patient-focused services to assist private psychiatrists in the coordination of treatment and care of their private practice patients with severe mental illness and complex needs. This Pilot of the MHNIP will be funded for a period of six (6) months by the Department of Health and Ageing. Extension of the arrangement will be subject to the outcomes of the Pilot.
This MHNIP Pilot is specifically designed for private psychiatry practices and targeted to private psychiatrists patients engaged in outpatient treatment. The MHNIP can be delivered to patients in the community as home visits and/or outpatient clinic reviews.
The service is not an acute hospital (or hospital substitution) service and patients requiring this level of intervention and treatment would need to be referred to a hospital based service as appropriate.
A total of 15 psychiatrists have taken advantage of the service having referred 50 patients. This group of patients are currently being cared for by three (3) mental health nurses.