Mr Liam Huynh, Principal Policy Officer, Mental Health Branch at the NSW Ministry of Health will be presenting at the upcoming Rural and Remote Mental Health Symposium on the topic of LikeMind: Integrated Service Model for People with Mental Health Needs.

LikeMind is an innovative integrated community mental health service for adults with moderate to severe mental illness. It aims to deliver seamless person centred care by providing triage, assessment, treatment, care coordination and discharge planning through a single point of contact. LikeMind provides a holistic approach to care and supports clients through issues of mental health, drug and alcohol, physical health, and provides linkages to employment, vocational training and housing.

Funded by the NSW Ministry of Health and led by a community managed organisation (CMO), a consortium of clinical and psychosocial services are co-located within a LikeMind site. Services include local health district community mental health and drug and alcohol teams, non-government organisations, as well as private practitioners such as general practitioners, psychiatrists, and psychologists.

Integration between lead agencies and the local health districts posed some unique challenges which had to be overcome, including the development of a shared clinical governance framework, systems for information sharing, and the integration of care plans.

Two pilot sites were initially established in Penrith and Seven Hills launched in January 2015, and October 2015 respectively.  Under the Strategic Plan for Mental Health in NSW, the Government committed to extending the LikeMind pilot to two further sites in rural and regional areas of NSW in Orange (to be August 2016) and Wagga Wagga (to be launched January 2017).

A case study will be presented to map the patient journey through the LikeMind service to demonstrate how integration between a CMO and the local health district can occur. Examples and learnings from a high level collaboration between the CMO and the local health district will be presented.

An independent evaluation of the LikeMind pilot sites is currently being undertaken by the Australian Health Services Research Institute. Preliminary results from this evaluation will also be presented.

The 2016 Rural and Remote Mental Health Symposium will be held at Mantra on Salt Beach, Kingscliff, NSW from 3 – 4 November 2016. This year’s symposium again provides opportunities to learn, discuss, workshop and network with others who share a passion for rural and remote mental health.

For more information on the Symposium and to secure your spot, please visit the symposium website.