A highly successful collaboration between the Queensland Ambulance Service (QAS) and Queensland Health to provide enhanced mental health services is to be expanded.
The pilot program has given Queenslanders experiencing a mental health crisis greater access to mental health services, prompting the Minister for Health and Ambulance Services, Yvette D’Ath to announce the expansion.
Ms D’Ath said that following the success of the Mental Health Co-responder Program in South-East Queensland, it would now go to other parts of the State.
“The program pairs a specialist paramedic with a senior mental health clinician from the Hospital and Health Services to provide a first, timely and appropriate health response to patients experiencing a mental health crisis,” Ms D’Ath said.
“The results speak for themselves, with the QAS able to facilitate access to appropriate follow-up and referrals for more than 1,000 patients during the pilot period in the Metro South, West Moreton and Gold Coast regions.”
She said that due to the success of the program, funding would be provided to expand the service into Metro North, Cairns, Townsville and the Sunshine Coast.
Queensland Ambulance Service Commissioner, Russell Bowles said the QAS was always looking for innovative ways to respond to the community.
“This is the same assessment and treatments which would otherwise be provided in a hospital, but they’re undertaken in the patient’s own environment in approximately 90 minutes,” Mr Bowles said.
“Around 65 per cent of patients are able to stay at home with tailored treatments and we know increased involvement and utilisation of carers in an individual’s own comfortable environment in a crisis is exactly what those with a lived experience of mental health need.”
