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Partners in Recovery: information session video, part 1 - introduction

Introduction to Partners in Recovery (PIR) as presented at an information session.

Video - part 1 of information session
Transcript - part 1 of information session

Transcript

Information session

Australian Government: Department of Health and Ageing
Information session, Partners in Recovery (PIR) Coordinated support and flexible funding for people with severe, persistent mental illness and complex needs initiative, August – September 2012

Carla Cranny: I would now like to formally open this, our fifth information session as part of the national discussion on the Partners in Recovery initiative.

My name is Carla Cranny and I’m your facilitator for today.

Partners in Recovery is a new national mental health initiative.

The Honorable Mark Butler, who is Minister for Mental Health and Minister for Ageing has been intensively involved in the development and the consultations around the initiative. He would have loved to have been here today to talk with you. That hasn’t been possible, so he’s sent this video message instead.

Minister Butler: Well, hello, I’m Mark Butler. I’m the Minister for Mental Health and Ageing. Welcome to this information session on Partners in Recovery. I’m sorry I can’t be with you today in person, but I’d like to introduce you briefly to this important Australian Government initiative, before officers from my department take you through more of the detail.

Partners in Recovery is one part of the Government’s 2.2 billion dollar investment in mental health, which we announced in last year’s budget. This is the largest investment ever by an Australian Government and is designed to make our system much more responsive and tailored to individual needs. Around one in three Australians will experience a mental health condition at some stage in their lives. Mental illness accounts for 13% of the total burden of disease in Australia and it’s the largest single cause of disability, comprising 24% of the burden of non-fatal disease. An estimated 60,000 Australians live with severe and persistent mental illness and have complex needs.

The 2011 Federal budget provided about 550 million dollars to the Partners in Recovery initiative. This will help enable us to reach up to 24,000 of those high need individuals. Partners in Recovery takes a fresh approach to providing better coordinated and integrated support for Australians living with the most severe and chronic forms of mental illness. Tackling severe and persistent mental illness requires a complex system of treatment, care and support, requiring the involvement of many areas of government, including health, housing, income support, disability, education and employment, to name just a few.Top of page

The Australian and the state and territory governments, as well as the non-government sector, all deliver programs for people with mental illness and to their carers. What the government has consistently been hearing is that care and support for those living with the most severe and persistent mental illness with complex needs is not adequately integrated or coordinated and too often, they fall through the gaps in our care and support systems. Many of them are dealing with as many as eight to ten different agencies, which would be a daunting enough task for most people, never mind those who are among society’s most vulnerable.

Partners in Recovery will be the glue that binds together all of the separate strands of the relevant support services, getting them to collaborate and cooperate in providing a more integrated and collectively owned response from service providers. We want services and supports to be wrapped around individuals who live with severe mental illness, rather than expecting them to traipse around town, struggling to access the supports that they need. So, we’ll create new teams of dedicated support facilitators’ networks and Partners in Recovery organisations with dedicated resources. Suitably placed and experienced non-government organisations will be engaged as Partners in Recovery organisations, in each of the 61 Medicare Local geographic regions across Australia, helping to improve the system response to vulnerable Australians.

We hope to clear out the arteries of our service systems, to get them working together for the benefit of those who most need our help. I would strongly encourage the different sectors and services in each region to start thinking about a model that could best achieve the Partners in Recovery objectives, while taking into account regional need and the service systems that are already operating.

Today’s information session will give you an opportunity to hear from expert panelists about the benefits of the Partners in Recovery initiative and to find out what’s required to apply for funding to become a PIR organisation. You’ll also have the chance, obviously, to ask questions of the panelists. Through today’s presentations and information sharing you’ll gain an understanding of the initiative and how you can play a part in this important national health reform activity.

Thank you for attending today’s session, which I’m sure you’ll find very helpful.Top of page

Carla Cranny: We have a panel consisting of representatives from the Department of Health and Ageing, members of the expert reference group, who were part of the initiative, and also a representative from the New South Wales Ministry for Health.

To my immediate right is Sue Campion, who is the Acting First Assistant Secretary of the Mental Health and Drug Treatment Division of the Department of Health and Ageing, and her division is responsible for implementing the Partners in Recovery initiative. Good morning Sue.

On her right is Carmen Hinkley, who is the Director of the section which has actually got the hands-on management of Partners in Recovery, and I’m sure many of you will be communicating with Carmen and her team over the coming months.

Sitting to Carmen’s right is Alison Ritter, and Alison is one of the members of the expert reference group, which were appointed by the Minister to help shape the Partners in Recovery initiative and ground it in service common sense. Alison is from the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre at the University of New South Wales.

To her right is Janet Meagher, who is a mental health consumer and she’s the General Manager for Inclusion of Richmond PRA.

And on Janet’s right is a representative of the Mental Health and Drug and Alcohol Centre in the New South Wales Ministry of Health, Karen Price, and Karen is going to be sharing perspectives on how State Mental Health Services who, as you know, target exactly this, the Partners in Recovery client group, hope to work effectively with Partners in Recovery services on the ground.