The ‘Mental Health, Alcohol and Other Drugs and Suicide Prevention Joint Regional Plan’ is a comprehensive effort for key mental health services in the region to work together to create better outcomes for the community.

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The core priority of this partnership is to help address critical mental health issues, substance use and suicide rates.

The partners are Healthy North Coast, Mid North Coast Local Health District and Northern NSW Local Health District.

The three organisations also launched a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that drives a ‘one health system’ approach to improve health outcomes across the North Coast.

In Coffs Harbour for the launch on July 3, Minister for Mental Health Rose Jackson told News Of The Area, “This represents the best possible effort to end the fragmentation of services.

“At the moment people are just bounced around, it’s very fragmented and we want that to be much more streamlined.”

Ms Jackson, who also serves as Minister for the North Coast, said the partnership will improve access to integrated and affordable mental health, alcohol and other drugs, and suicide prevention services.

The Minister believes the collaboration will improve help-seeking behaviour in the Mid North Coast and North Coast communities.

“This had previously been identified as a challenge across these regions due to services operating independently to each other, and multiple entry points contributing to both consumer and workforce confusion in trying to navigate the health system.”

The North Coast Mental Health Plan is intended to remove barriers to health care access for local communities.

“We acknowledge that we have not done the best we can here,” said Mr Jackson.

“Our structures and our systems don’t work for them (consumers).

“We talk about partnership, teamwork and integration…[that’s] too much talk…drop the ego, drop the territorialism and lean in together to really put consumers at the centre.”

With Northern NSW leading the way, Ms Jackson is excited to take the model back to the rest of the state.

“There’s going to be hiccups, roadblocks and moments, but we’re bringing this to fruition,” she said.

“We’re a team that recognises that mental health is a huge issue and we’re leaning into a future that centres on models of better care.”

Speaking at the launch, local consumer Dominique White discussed her prior difficulties navigating the complex health system during a lifetime of mental health challenges.

“Disparate systems with fractured communications between them means the complexity of navigating services does not always translate into seamless patient care,” she said.

“It can be disorienting…and I have personally lost my footing between when one service ended and in searching for another.

“Hearing your plans for one health system with better wrap-around care for people warms my heart.

“But please make sure it is based on a trauma informed approach, for vulnerable people, especially those living with trauma as I do.

“Inadequate transfer of care can mean treatment and support that may be available doesn’t reach them at all or comes too late.”

Dominique urged the members of the partnership to be “bold, innovative and confident in taking risks”.

“Please look to your biggest asset, the people who are the soul of the systems of care.

“Through this you will deliver the most important outcome of all – hope.”

By Andrea FERRARI