RACGP to help lead mental health reform

With the spotlight on Medicare reform, the mental health of Australians – and the system within which it is managed – is high on the agenda.
 
GPs are at the centre of that work, accounting for a significant percentage of mental healthcare in Australia, and to highlight their role and explore the supports needed into the future, RACGP President Dr Nicole Higgins will be attending a specially convened mental health workshop.
 
Organised by the Department of Health and Aged Care, the event will take place in Adelaide on Wednesday 22 February, with Federal Health and Aged Care Minister Mark Butler and the Assistant Minister for Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Emma McBride both in attendance.
 
The meeting follows on from January’s Mental Health Equity and Access Forum, which focused on ways to make services more affordable and accessible to those who need them most, as part of the broader system of care.
 
The upcoming workshop has a much smaller list of attendees and will aim to inform next steps and canvas tangible and appropriate solutions.
 
Dr Higgins, one of the select group invited to attend, said it is crucial that the RACGP has a seat at the table as a decision maker.
 
‘For us to be asked to be a part of this is really significant,’ she told newsGP.
 
‘What we will be pushing for is to ensure that mental health is part of whole patient care – it can’t be fragmented and separated – and within general practice we need support where we have integrated behavioural health.
 
‘So, support through a WIP [Workforce Incentive Program] to help with mental health nurses, social workers, drug and alcohol, etcetera.’
 
The meeting comes in the midst of a mental health crisis, with a new study undertaken as part of the Assisting Communities through Direct Connection project recently revealing the extent of the issues being faced across the country.
 
After knocking on more than 37,000 doors in 21 communities around Australia, 6600 residents gave insight into their wellbeing – and the results were striking. Nearly half (49.4%) of all participants reported being in moderate to very high distress, while more than one-third (36.7%) said they needed more support.
 
However, nearly half (43.2%) who had wanted to seek help in the past year were unable to get the support they needed and more than a quarter (25.6%) could not afford the cost of the service/support.
 
The results come as little surprise to Dr Higgins.
 
With nine out of 10 people seeing their GP every year, she says it is clear, that even in the midst of a GP shortage, GPs are the ‘most accessible’ health profession nationally.
 
‘The majority of our consultations involve mental health. We are skilled at dealing with it and we’re trained, not only through medical school but during our postgraduate training and ongoing professional development – it’s just part of what we do,’ Dr Higgins said.
 
‘Also, general practice is a cost-efficient engine house of the healthcare system. What the Government and other stakeholders don’t see is the quiet work that we do preventing people from requiring more expensive or complex care.’
 
The reality Dr Higgins describes is demonstrated in the latest Health of the Nation report. It shows that for the sixth consecutive year, GPs reported mental health issues as the most common reason for patient appointments.
 
Meanwhile, GPs also carry a large share of the mental health workload, with 38% of consultations incorporating a mental health component and patients reporting they are more likely to see a GP for their mental health concerns than any other healthcare professional.
 
Despite these statistics, evidence suggests that the amount of mental health work undertaken by GPs is significantly underestimated in Medicare statistics.
 
Dr Higgins hopes to shed further light on this trend during her attendance at the workshop this week, with the emphasis not only on work currently being undertaken by GPs in the mental health space, but the role they have to play in its future – and the support needed.
 
‘What has happened recently is I’ve been able to open doors and we’re increasingly part of the conversation,’ the college President said.
 
‘What I’d like to achieve out of this is increased recognition and funding for general practice mental health, to bring the MBS item numbers up to equivalent time-based item numbers and to cut the red tape.
 
‘As a GP, I’d rather be paid for time that I spend with my patients versus the paperwork that I have to do to prove what I’m doing.
 
‘We can’t separate the brain from the body; it’s part of the whole person. And that’s what GPs are highly skilled at.’
 
Log in below to join the conversation.

complex care mental health reform