Keeping people out of emergency departments the aim of mental health service launching in the North-West

A new emergency mental health service will begin in Burnie, and it could be a game changer for the North-West. Find out how it will work.

Department of Health hospitals and primary care deputy secretary Dale Webster, Premier Jeremy Rockliff, Ambulance Tasmania North-West operations director Ky Wittich, Ambulance Tasmania intergrated care manager Emily Byers, Tasmania Police Western District Commander Stuart Wilkinson and Mental Health Lived Experience Tasmania consumer representative Louise Hollingbery. Picture: Simon McGuire.

A new mental health emergency response service will start running in the state’s North-West from next week.

Following a trial in Hobart, the new service will begin running out of Burnie with two clinicians.

Department of Health hospitals and primary care deputy secretary Dale Webster said the service, which provides help for people experiencing mental health episodes without them having to go to an emergency department, had been tailored for the North-West region.

“Hobart is a single geographic area; we have 200,000 people in a catchment,” Mr Webster said.

“So you can actually respond fairly quickly with all three emergency services to that area, and we do that 16 hours a day through our teams in the South.

“With a long ribbon of population starting at Port Sorell and finishing the other side of Smithton, you can’t really provide that same service.”

Mr Webster said emergency services and those with lived mental health experiences informed the North-West model.

“That’s why we have a clinical nurse educator, and it’s really important. There’s not going to be every time we can send out a clinician with a paramedic.

“But if emergency service personnel have got more training and access to a mental health clinician at the end of the phone, then we’re going to be able to provide that service.”

Initially, the two clinicians will operate for 10 hours from 1pm daily.

“The 10 hours have been designed based on the data and evidence that we have when the service is most needed,” Premier and Mental Health and Wellbeing Minister Jeremy Rockliff said.

“But also the reason why we’re employing and supporting the position of mental health educator is to support our police and paramedics outside of those hours and build their knowledge and capacity around mental health awareness and support.”

Mr Rockliff said the mental health emergency response service would benefit the North-West Coast.

“Statewide, some 2800 people have been supported in the community with the work of our mental health clinicians, our police officers and our paramedics working together.

“Seventy-five per cent of people that have been supported in the community have not had to go to an emergency department. As you can appreciate … an emergency department and the complexity, busyness and stress of that environment is no place for a person experiencing a very serious mental health episode.”

Another two clinicians for the service based in Devonport are set to start in early 2024.