The RACGP has welcomed the final evaluation report into Mental Health Nurse Incentive Program (MHNIP) concluding the program to be highly successful in ensuring patients with severe mental illness receive coordinated clinical care services.
Providing feedback on the program’s evaluation at a recent Roundtable led by the Minister for Mental Health and Ageing, Mark Butler, the RACGP confirmed it was clear the program was very well received, offering value for money and positive outcomes for consumers, carers and health professionals involved.
Dr Liz Marles, RACGP President, said calls to uncap the program’s funding were not unfounded, given the positive findings in the report. However in addressing equity of access to the program in a time of fiscal pressure, the College believes the focus should be on doing more to support those services who have not been early adopters of the program.
“For example, we would like to see the government speaking to rural Medicare Locals and Aboriginal Medical Services who have not been able to participate in the program and offering incentives according to local need,” Dr Marles said.
“It is not surprising with the extent of change currently taking place in the primary care sector that early adopters will be in the areas of less workforce pressure. By ensuring sustainability of the program and job security for nurses, some of the barriers to getting mental health nurses into areas of need may be lessened.”
Funding for the program that currently supports around 650 nurses was capped in the Federal Budget in May, with demand for the program exceeding initial expectations of 36 000 services a year.
We wish to emphasise that the strength of this initiative is in grounding mental health nurse care in the general practice setting, which empowers generalists to do more for their patients with serious mental illness, not just with respect to their mental, but also their considerable physical health needs,” Dr Marles concluded.
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