The Minister for Veterans’ Affairs has launched a new service to assist doctors and organisations treating veterans with mental health issues.
The new Practitioner Support Service (PSS) will provide expert advice and consultation to doctors and agencies around Australia who are supporting and treating veterans with mental health issues
The Minister, Darren Chester said the professionals, when working with veterans who had complex issues, would now be able to gain access to a panel of highly experienced veteran and military mental health specialists.
“This initiative will strengthen the ability of health professionals and ex-service organisations across Australia to provide appropriate support to veterans in need,” Mr Chester said.
“The service can be accessed by calling 1800 VET777 or through the Phoenix Australia website which also provides links to best practice and professional development.”
He said a general practitioner, for example, working with an individual veteran in a rural or remote setting, would be able to get expert specialist advice on how to best treat and support an individual with complex post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), pain or other mental health issues.
The Minister said that in 2016, $6 million was provided to Phoenix Australia to establish the Centenary of Anzac Centre to target early intervention for mental health treatment for veterans.
“The Centre will investigate and test new treatments for PTSD and other mental health conditions and provide expert advice and support to mental health practitioners,” Mr Chester said.
“The PSS is the second arm of the Centre and aims to provide a multidisciplinary focus and guidance on the treatment of complex mental health problems in veterans and military personnel.”
