Premium
GP Clinic: Promoting access to primary health care for mental health service clients
Author(s) -
Perkins David,
Hamilton Meg,
Saurman Emily,
Luland Teresa,
Alpren Charles,
Lyle David
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
australian journal of rural health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.48
H-Index - 49
eISSN - 1440-1584
pISSN - 1038-5282
DOI - 10.1111/j.1440-1584.2010.01159.x
Subject(s) - mental health , medicine , nursing , community health , primary care , service (business) , mental health service , formative assessment , primary health care , rural health , family medicine , health care , rural area , public health , psychology , psychiatry , business , population , environmental health , pedagogy , pathology , marketing , economics , economic growth
Objective: To evaluate an innovative rural service offering comprehensive primary health care for mental health service clients.Design: A formative evaluation using mixed methods.Setting: A rural NSW community.Participants: Fifteen health care providers and 120 adult clients.Intervention: A monthly clinic held in a general practice to provide primary health care for clients of the community mental health team.Main outcome measures: Client utilisation and clinic activity data. Provider views of service effectiveness, possible improvements and sustainability.Results: The GP Clinic has operated successfully for 2.5 years without access block. Some 52% of clients had no physical illness and 82% were referred to other health and community services. In total, 40% continued to attend the clinic while 32% went on to consult a GP independently. Client access to care improved as did collaboration between the community mental health team and primary care providers.Conclusion: The GP Clinic is a straightforward and flexible service model that could be used more widely.