Service Mapping

Rapid Phone Survey of Community

Organisations Delivering

Mental Health and Suicide

Prevention Services in the

Central Queensland, Wide Bay,

Sunshine Coast PHN catchment

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CONTENTS Executive Summary ....................................................................................................................... 3

Background and Objectives of Service Mapping ........................................................................... 5

Rapid Phone Survey—Methods .................................................................................................... 5

Survey Sample ............................................................................................................................... 7

MH Service Providers .................................................................................................................... 8

Community MH Services Delivered ............................................................................................. 11

Staff Delivering MH Services ....................................................................................................... 20

Funding for MH Services ............................................................................................................. 24

Knowledge of Stepped Care Model ............................................................................................. 26

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In total, 60 community providers participated

in the MH survey. Out of these, 33 serve the

Sunshine Coast area, 28 operate in Wide Bay

and 17 in Central Queensland. Over a quarter

of MH providers (17) operate across more than

one regional area.

The majority of organisations delivering MH

services have been operating for more than 11

years (32 out of 60) and consider MH as their

primary focus of activities (40 out of 60).

Excluding bed-based, on-line and phone

services, most services (40 out of 60) operate

during standard business hours.

MH providers – on average – have relatively

small staffing levels with 40% (24 out of 60)

reporting between 1 to 5 mental health

treatment staff. Only six providers reported

more than 31 staff members, with 5 of them

located in the Sunshine Coast area.

Certificate II or IV was reported as the most

common qualification amongst MH staff by 15

(out of 55) organisations, followed by other

professionals (reported by 12 out of 55

providers).

The majority of providers receive

Commonwealth funding (42 out of 60) and 28

receive state government funding for the

delivery of MH services. Philanthropic financing

was reported by 10 providers, private funding

by nine and only five providers reported

funding from State government.

Most MH providers deliver community support

(56 out of 60), treatment (50 out of 60) and

preventative services (41 out of 60).

Community bed-based services are offered by

nine organisations, most of them operating in

the Wide Bay area.

Out of 56 community support service providers

in the PHN catchment, 47 offer programs

helping people access and maintain social

activities, 39 support independent living skills,

37 deliver carer support, 34 housing support,

and only 10 of them offer flexible respite

programmes.

The survey identified 9 community support

service providers already registered with NDIS,

while 26 reported intentions to register.

On average every month in the PHN

catchment:

36 providers deliver care coordination

services to 1,619 clients

35 organisations deliver suicide risk

detection and treatment services to

1,161 clients

26 providers offer peer support to 1,070

clients

35 providers deliver 4,386 occasions of

service for face-to-face therapy

32 organisations offer 969 sessions of

group therapy

26 organisations deliver 1,081 occasions

of service for over-the-phone counselling

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY A rapid phone survey of community organisations delivering mental health and suicide

prevention (MH) and alcohol and other drug treatment (AoD) services was undertaken during

August—September 2016. It collected basic information about providers and the services they

deliver in the PHN catchment.

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However, a relative small number of MH

provides account for a relatively large

percentage of community MH treatment

services in the PHN catchment:

65% of clients of suicide risk detection

and treatment services receive services

from four (out of 35) providers

62% of face-to-face therapy sessions are

delivered by one provider

57% of peer support clients in the PHN

catchment receive services from three –

out of 26 – providers

49% of occasions of service of over the

phone counselling are provided by three

– out of 26– organisations

36% of clients of care coordination

services receive services from four – out

of 36 – providers

Out of 60 survey respondents, 33 never heard

or did not know much about the stepped care

approach to MH, while 17 noted they are

familiar with it and 10 know its implications.

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BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES OF MAPPING In the context of mental health and suicide prevention (MH) and alcohol and other drug treatment

services (AoD), the PHN plays a pivotal role in the development of the corresponding regional plans

and commissioning of primary care services for the population.

To inform these activities and the work undertaken by the Regional Mental Health and Alcohol and

Drug Strategic Collaboratives in Central Queensland, Sunshine Coast and Wide Bay, the PHN

surveyed community organisations delivering mental health and AoD services in the PHN

catchment.

The objective of the survey is to collect basic information about these providers and the services

they deliver. Specifically, the survey sought information regarding:

The scope of services provided, including the type of services, opening hours, and geographic

catchment

Main target populations and sources of referral

The qualifications of the staff delivering services

Main sources of funding

RAPID PHONE SURVEY - METHODS

Time and budget considerations led to a survey design that could be undertaken at low cost, over

the phone and in a short time frame.

A draft survey instrument was developed in early July 2016 and reviewed by local experts. They

were requested to provide feedback on the overall content of the survey.

After securing expert feedback, the survey instrument was adjusted and tested over the phone

with a few service providers before making final changes.

As part of the initial Mental Health and Alcohol and other Drugs Needs Assessments conducted in

early 2016 a list of organisations delivering these services in the PHN catchment was compiled

through sources such as the Queensland Health QFinder directory and lists compiled by Partners in

Recovery Consortiums and the National Health Service Directory. The initial listing included 98

community organisations that could potentially be delivering MH and AoD services in the region.

Further information secured through the web and when possible confirmed over the phone

verified that out of the original listing of 98 community providers, 17 did not identify as a MH and/

or AoD service, two had closed down, one was no longer funded to provide MH and/or AoD

services and one did not deliver services in the PHN catchment. This led to a survey sample of 77

currently active MH and/or AoD services.

A letter requesting participation in the survey was sent to service providers and interviewers

contacted them to request an appointment with the service manager or whoever else was

identified as the best respondent for the survey.

The vast majority of interviews took place in the first three weeks of August, but some providers

were only available for interview in September.

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Interviews were undertaken over the phone by a supervisor and two interviewers and lasted on

average 15 to 20 minutes. Survey data was cleaned and validated during September.

The survey instrument included 96 questions with 40 relating to MH and 56 to AoD services. They

covered operating years of the organisation delivering services, scope and volume of services

offered, geographical catchment, treatment staff and funding.

Survey questions sought information that respondents had at their fingertips and were able to

provide over the phone. Only ball-park estimates of service volume and staff numbers were thus

requested.

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SURVEY SAMPLE

MH & AoD SURVEY SAMPLE (1)

Services Delivered PHN(2)

Central Queensland

Wide Bay

Sunshine Coast

Mental Health Only

51 14 23 27

AoD Only 3 1 0 2

Both MH & AoD

11(3) 3 3 5

No Response 12 5 6 1

TOTAL 77 23 32 35

Notes: (1) Interviewed providers might deliver services other than MH or AoD. (2) Some providers deliver across several regions, so totals do not add up to the PHN (3) Two providers answered the AoD section of the survey but did not complete the MH section

In total 77 active MH and/or AoD community

service providers were identified in the PHN

region. Of these, 12 (16%) could not be

contacted or were not available for

interview.

The non-response rate was highest in Central

Queensland (22%), followed by Wide Bay

(18%). All but one of the Sunshine Coast

service providers were available for

interview.

Most providers deliver services across

various LGAs in the same regional area.

However, a few MH providers operate in

several regions. One delivers services in both

Central Queensland and Wide Bay. Three

operate in Wide Bay and the Sunshine Coast.

Out of the 65 service providers surveyed in

the PHN, 62 deliver MH with 51 delivering

MH and not AoD. These results are discussed

in the accompanying report.

The survey identified 14 AoD service

providers, 11 of which deliver both MH and

AoD services.

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The survey collected information on community MH services supplied by non-government

organisations (NGOs). It does not include MH services offered by hospitals, public organisations,

and private providers.

Out of 65 community providers of MH and AoD services in the PHN catchment, 62 were identified

as delivering MH services across the PHN.

The majority (51 out of 65) deliver MH, but not AoD treatment services and 11 deliver both

streams of services.

Out of the 11 organisations delivering both MH and AoD, 2 failed to answer the MH portion of the

survey.

As a result, a total of 60 community MH providers answered the survey.

A relative large number of MH providers (17 out of 60, 28%) deliver services across more than one

area within the PHN catchment.

There are 11 organisations operating across both Wide Bay and the Sunshine Coast and 6 delivering

services in Central Queensland and Wide Bay.

Only one organisation reported delivering MH services in all three regional areas.

MH organisations operating across regions include some of the largest providers in the PHN

catchment.

MH SERVICE PROVIDERS

Survey estimates of staffing levels and service volume are presented at PHN level only since

no information is available for further geographical allocation.

To broadly capture the supply of MH services across the PHN regions, other survey

estimates, such as number of providers delivering different types of MH services are

provided at regional level.

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A total of 60 MH providers operating in the PHN catch-

ment were surveyed. Over a half (33) serve the Sunshine

Coast area, home to 384,338 people (47% of the popula-

tion in the PHN catchment) .

The least populous, but highly disadvantaged Wide Bay

area with 205,900 population, 55% of which live in social-

ly disadvantaged areas is served by 28 (out of 60) MH

providers.

GEOGRAPHICAL CATCHMENT OF MH SERVICES

The Central Queensland area with a population of 233,747 and over a quarter living in outer

regional or remote areas, is served by 17 (out of 60) MH providers.

The survey asked providers to broadly identify the geographical catchment of their MH services.

This information was used to identify LGAs that were within each provider’s geographical

catchment. The vast majority of providers deliver MH services across various LGAs, so this

information cannot be used to allocate service capacity to each LGA.

A large number of the Sunshine Coast providers deliver services in the Sunshine Coast LGA (282,822

population and 24 MH providers ).

Gympie LGA with 48,664 population, 50% of which live in disadvantaged areas (i.e. the bottom

Queensland quintile of socio-economic disadvantage) is served by 21 MH providers.

In Wide Bay, Fraser Coast LGA with 101,306 population is served by 20 providers, while Bundaberg

with 94,283 population is serviced by 16 providers.

The 10,311 population of North Burnett LGA (100% of which is classified as outer regional or

remote) is served by 10 providers.

Out of the 17 MH providers servicing Central Queensland, 12

operate in the largest population centres of Rockhampton

(83,439) and Gladstone (66,097 people). The smaller

populations of Banana (15,236) and Woorabinda (1,002) are

served by 6 and 4 providers, respectively.

Number of community organisations delivering MH services in the PHN catchment

Central Queensland 17

Banana 6

Central Highlands 9

Gladstone 12

Livingstone 7

Rockhampton 12

Woorabinda 4

SUNSHINE COAST 33

Gympie 21

Noosa 5

Sunshine Coast LGA 24

WIDE BAY 28

Bundaberg 15

Fraser Coast 20

North Burnett 10

Note: Totals do not add up. Providers deliver across various LGAs

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Most MH providers in the PHN (40, i.e. 67%)

consider MH to be their primary focus. A

further 27% (16) regard MH to be the

secondary focus of their activities.

Across the three regions, most MH

providers consider MH to be either the

primary or secondary focus of their

activities.

SERVICE FOCUS

To examine the extent to which

consolidated and new service providers

operate in the region, the survey requested

information about the operating years of

the organisation delivering MH services.

Out of 60 MH providers in the PHN

catchment, 32 (53%) have been operating

for more than 11 years and 17 (28%) have

been doing so for 6 to 10 years. Only 18%

(11 providers) have been delivering services

for 5 years or less.

A similar picture is observed in both Central

Queensland and Wide Bay.

Less than 15% of providers (2

out of 17 in Central

Queensland and 4 out of 28 in

Wide Bay) have been

delivering services for 5 years

or less.

Over 57% providers, 5 out of

17 in Central Queensland and

16 out of 28 in Wide Bay, have

been operating for 11 years or more.

In the Sunshine Coast, 9 out of 32 MH

providers (28%) have been operating for 5

years or less, with another 9 operating

between 6 to 10 years. The remaining 14

(44%) have been delivering services for 11

years or more.

OPERATING YEARS

MH PROVIDERS - ORGANISATION OPERATING YEARS

Central

Queensland Wide Bay Sunshine

Coast PHN

N = % N = % N = % N = %

5 years or less 11 18 2 12 4 14 9 28

6 to 10 years 17 28 5 29 8 29 9 28

More than 11 years 32 53 10 59 16 57 14 44

Total PHN 60 100 17 100 28 100 32 100

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Community bed-based services:

Provide seven days per week recovery oriented

services in a residential-style setting:

Subacute short-stay (step up/step

down), that is with a maximum of 30

days

Sub-acute medium stay, that is with a

maximum of 180 days

Sub-acute long-stay, that is more than

180 days but less than 1 year

Non-acute long-stay, that is more than 1

year

Preventative community programs:

Aim at reducing the incidence and prevalence

of MH problems as well as boosting positive

mental health and resilience.

Community support services:

Provide individuals with access to the support

and help needed to participate in their

community. Includes:

Programs helping people accessing and

maintaining employment/education

Programs helping people accessing and

maintaining social activities

Support with housing

Independent living skills

Flexible respite

Carer support

Community treatment services:

Provide mental health care in the community

for individuals with mental illness. Services are

non-residential and can be intensive, acute or

ongoing.

They cover a variety of services, including:

Suicide risk, detection and treatment

Care coordination for people with high

complex needs

Personalised face-to-face talking therapy

Group therapy, including support groups

Over-the-phone counselling

On-line counselling

Computerised CBT or other types of

computerised therapies

Peer support

COMMUNITY MH SERVICES DELIVERED

Taxonomy of MH services

The taxonomy of MH services was adapted from the Western Australia Services Plan – Government of

Western Australia Mental Health Commission 2015, Better Choices. Better Lives, Western Australia Mental

Health, Alcohol and Other Drug Services Plan 2015-2016 (1)

(1) Available at http://www.mentalhealth.wa.gov.au/Libraries/pdf_docs/The_Plan_81215_3.sflb.ashx.

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One of the main objectives of the survey was to capture the number of providers delivering

different types of community MH services across the PHN catchment. The vast majority of surveyed

MH organisations deliver:

support services (56 out of 60);

community mental health treatment (50 out of 60); and

preventative services (41 out of 60).

Out of 60 providers, 9 deliver community bed based services, with 6 of them operating from Wide

Bay and 2 from Central Queensland.

Only 1 provider of community bed based services reported operating from the Sunshine Coast

area. However 3 providers with reported locations in Wide Bay have also included the Sunshine

Coast in the geographical catchment area of their MH services.

Preventative mental health programmes are offered by 41 providers in the PHN catchment (68%).

A higher proportion deliver treatment services (50 providers, 83%).

Most organisations in the PHN catchment (56 out of 60, 93%) deliver community support services.

The situation is similar across each of the three regional areas:

Most MH organisations in Central Queensland, Wide Bay and Sunshine Coast (over 88%)

deliver support services and over 80% provide community treatment services.

TYPES OF MH SERVICES DELIVERED

Community MH Services - Number of Providers

Central

Queensland Wide Bay Sunshine

Coast PHN

N % N % N % N %

Bed-based services 9 15 2 12 6 21 4 13

Preventative services 41 68 12 71 19 68 22 69

MH Treatment services 50 83 15 88 23 82 26 81

Support Services 56 93 15 88 26 93 30 94

Total Providers (do not add up) 60 1 17 28 32

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Community residential care services assist clients with severe and complex mental illness to

improve their functioning and enabling them to move towards more independent living.

To capture the capacity of community bed services, the survey estimates the number of community

beds available for each type of service.

The largest number of beds (18) in the PHN catchment are available for sub-acute short-stay. This is

followed by sub-acute long stay (15) and sub-acute medium-stay (12).

Only 2 beds are available for non-acute long stay (i.e. over a year) in the PHN catchment. All of

them are offered by providers delivering services in Central Queensland.

In Central Queensland, community bed-based services are only available for sub-acute short stay

(i.e. maximum of 30 days) and non-acute long-stay.

The Sunshine Coast population is served by MH providers offering 15 beds for sub-acute short-stay.

Out of these beds, 7 of them are offered by providers who also serve the Wide-Bay population.

For sub-acute long stay bed-based services, 9 beds are offered by providers that only deliver

services in the Sunshine Coast. The remaining 6 beds are offered by providers that only operate in

Wide-Bay.

There is no supply of non-acute long-stay beds by providers servicing the Sunshine Coast and/or

Wide Bay.

COMMUNITY BED SERVICES

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These are recovery oriented services designed to support individuals with severe mental illness to

create or rebuild a satisfying and contributing life.

The survey aimed to gauge the number of providers delivering different types of community

support services in the PHN catchment. Out of the 56 providers delivering community support

services identified in the survey:

The majority (47 providers, 84%) offer programs helping people accessing and maintaining

social activities

Other commonly supplied services include independent living skills (39 providers, 70%), carer

support (37 providers, 66%) and housing support (34, 60%)

17% of providers (10 out of 56) offer flexible respite programmes

In Central Queensland, the majority of providers (13 out of 15, 87%) deliver programmes helping

people access and maintain social activities as well as programmes for independent living skills.

Only 2 providers offer flexible respite.

Most providers serving Wide Bay deliver programmes supporting social activities (23 out of 26

providers, 88%) followed by carer support (19 providers, 73%).

Out of 26 community support service providers in Wide Bay, 8 (31%) deliver flexible respite, the

highest proportion in the PHN catchment.

In the Sunshine Coast area, out of 30

support service providers, 24 (80%)

offer support with social activities and

22 (73%) deliver carer support

programmes. The lowest proportion

(17%) represents providers delivering

flexible respite programmes (5 out of

30).

COMMUNITY SUPPORT SERVICES

Community Support Services - Number of providers

Central Queensland Wide Bay Sunshine Coast PHN

N % N % N % N %

Employment 24 43 7 47 12 46 12 40

Social Activities 47 84 13 87 23 88 24 80

Housing 34 61 9 60 17 65 18 60

Independent Living 39 70 13 87 18 69 20 67

Flexible Respite 10 18 2 13 8 31 5 17

Carer Support 37 66 7 47 19 73 22 73

Total number of support services providers (do not add up) 56 15 26 30

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NATIONAL DISABILITY INSURANCE SCHEME

With the introduction of the NDIS, providers can register to deliver support services or products to

individuals participating in the NDIS. The survey sought general information on the extent to

which current providers are registered – or intend to register – with the NDIS.

Out of 56 providers of community support services in the PHN catchment, 9 (16%) are already

registered, while 26 (46%) are intending to register.

In Central Queensland, the vast majority (11 out of 15 providers, 73%) intend to register, while 1 is

already registered. The remaining 3 do not intend to register.

Out of 26 community support service providers in Wide Bay, 13 (50%) intend to register, while 9

(35%) do not intend to register.

Out of 30 community support service providers in the Sunshine Coast, 8 (27%) are registered, 9

(30%) intend to register, while the majority (13, i.e. 43%) do not intend to register.

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Community treatment services provide

clinical care in a non-residential community

setting for individuals with mental illness.

They are an important focus of the mental

health services that the PHN commissions in

the catchment area.

The survey aimed to broadly capture the

number of providers and volume of services

delivered to the PHN population.

Number of providers

Out of 60 MH providers surveyed, 50 (83%)

deliver mental health treatment services in

the PHN catchment. Of these:

The majority (35 providers, 70%) deliver suicide risk, detection and treatment services.

The same number of providers (35) also provide personalised face-to-face talking therapy, such as counselling and cognitive behavioural therapy.

Group Therapy is also a popular service delivered by 64% of providers (32), followed by over the phone counselling (26 providers, 52%).

Alternative approaches to delivering mental

health services are important for reaching

rural and remote populations at reasonable

cost.

However, in the PHN catchment, only 7 providers (14%) offer on-line counselling and only 1 delivers computerised therapies such as computerised CBT.

COMMUNITY TREATMENT

MH treatment services– Number of providers

Central

Queensland Wide Bay

Sunshine

Coast

N % N % N %

Suicide 13 87 17 74 17 65

Care

coordination

11 73 17 74 18 69

Peer support 7 47 13 57 16 62

Face-to-face 13 87 17 74 17 65

Group Therapy 8 53 14 61 19 73

Over the phone 8 53 11 48 13 50

On-line 2 13 4 17 4 15

Computerised

Therapy

1 7 0 0 0 0

Total number of

MH treatment

providers

(do not add up)

15 23 26

Across each of the three regional areas:

Suicide treatment, care coordination and face-to-face are offered by most providers in each regional

area.

Group therapy is offered by a relatively large number of providers in each regional area. The highest

proportion is in the Sunshine Coast, where 19 out of 26 (i.e. 73%) offer this service.

Computerised and on-line counselling are offered by relatively few providers. Wide Bay is the PHN

regional area with the highest proportion of providers delivering on-line counselling (4 out of 17, i.e.

17%) . Only one provider in CQ offers computerised therapy.

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On average every month in the PHN catchment:

36 providers deliver care coordination services to 1619 clients

35 organisations deliver suicide risk detection and treatment services to 1161 clients

26 providers offer peer support to 1,070 clients

35 providers deliver 4,386 occasions of service for face-to-face therapy

32 organisations offer 969 sessions of group therapy

26 organisations deliver 1,081 occasions of service for over-the-phone counselling

No information is available to disaggregate volume of services and allocate number of clients or

occasions of service allocate to LGAs or regional areas.

VOLUME OF TREATMENT SERVICES DELIVERED

MH Treatment Services - Clients per month

PHN Clients Providers

Suicide 1161 35

Care coordination 1619 36

Peer Support 1070 26

Total of providers offering treatment services 50

MH Treatment Services - Occasions of service per month

PHN Occasions of service Providers

Face-to-face 4386 35

Group Therapy 969 32

Over the phone 1081 26

On-line 30 7

Computerised Therapy 2 1

Total of providers offering treat-ment services 50

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A relatively small number of MH providers account for a relatively large percentage of MH services

delivery in the region. However the presence of numerous -although relatively small- providers

suggest that at least to some degree there is contestability in the market for community MH

treatment services.

MARKET CONCENTRATION OF TREATMENT SERVICES DELIVERED

Out of 1161 clients of suicide risk detection and

treatment services in the PHN catchment, 760

(65 %) receive services from 4 providers

In the PHN catchment, out of 969 face-to-face

therapy sessions, 600 (62%) are delivered by

one provider

Out of 1,081 occasions of service for over-the-

phone counselling delivered in the PHN

catchment, 530 (49%) are offered by 3

providers

In the PHN catchment, out of 1,070 peer

support clients, 610 (57%) obtain their services

from 3 providers

Out of 1,619 individuals receiving care

coordination services in the PHN catchment,

590 (36%) are served by 4 providers.

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To examine the availability of MH services during and out of business hours, the survey requested

information on the operating hours of MH services, excluding those that are bed-based or delivered

over the phone and on-line.

The vast majority of MH providers in the PHN catchment deliver their services during standard

business hours (40 out of 60, i.e. 70%).

In the PHN, 7 out of 60 providers (12%)

also offer services during flexible hours

to suit the needs of their clients.

Similar operating hours are observed

across the three regional areas, with

the majority of providers offering their

services during standard business

hours.

OPERATING HOURS FOR MH SERVICES

MAIN SOURCES OF REFERRAL FOR CLIENTS OF AoD SERVICES

To understand the main sources of referral for clients of MH services in the PHN catchment, the

survey requested respondents to identify the top three sources of referral for their clients.

Out of 60 providers in the PHN, 41 identified self-referral/family (including friends and carers) as

one of the top three sources of referral for their clients.

Social support services was identified by 27 providers, followed by Hospital and Health Services

referral (20).

Across each of the three regional areas, most providers identified self-referral/family as one of the

top three sources of referral for their

MH clients.

Social support services was identified

as one of the most important sources

of client referral for 9 out of 17

providers in Central Queensland and

for 15 out of 33 providers in Sunshine

Coast.

In Wide Bay, social support services

and GP/Psychiatrist were identified by

11 out of 17 providers as one of the

main sources of referral for their MH

clients.

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With a view to broadly capture MH service capacity in the PHN catchment, the survey aimed to

estimate the number of staff currently engaged to deliver MH services to clients, excluding

corporate support staff, such as managers or accountants.

Information such as full-time equivalent staff numbers was not available through a rapid phone

survey. Respondents were asked to provide ball-park estimates of their staff numbers. Most– but

not all respondents– were also able to provide information on the number of staff according to

their employment status (full-time, part-time, casual and independent contractors)

Out of 60 surveyed providers 24 (40%) have between 1 to 5 mental health treatment staff and 2

(3%) operate with volunteers only – which might include student placements.

In the PHN catchment, 6 providers (10%) reported 31+ MH treatment staff. Most of these providers

operate in the Sunshine Coast area (5).

In Central Queensland, 6 out of 17 providers (35%) reported between 1 to 5 MH treatment staff

and 9 have between 11 and 30. Only 1 provider employs more than 31 MH treatment staff

Most MH providers in Wide Bay (12 out of 28, i.e. 43%) reported 1 to 5 MH treatment staff, while 2

employ over 31 staff.

Out of 32 providers in the Sunshine Coast, 12 (38%)reported 1 to 5 MH treatment staff, followed

by 7 providers reporting 6 to 10 staff members and 5 with over 31 MH treatment staff.

STAFF DELIVERING MH SERVICES

Staffing levels - MH Providers

PHN Central Queensland Wide Bay Sunshine Coast

N % N % N % N %

Only volunteers 2 3% 0 0% 1 4% 1 3%

1 to 5 staff 24 40% 6 35% 12 43% 12 38%

6 to 10 staff 10 17% 1 6% 4 14% 7 22%

11 to 16 staff 9 15% 4 24% 4 14% 4 13%

17 to 30 staff 9 15% 5 29% 5 18% 3 9%

31+ staff 6 10% 1 6% 2 7% 5 16%

Total providers 60 100% 17 100% 28 100 32 100%

Number of staff includes full-time, part-time, casual and contractors. Full-time equivalent estimates are not available.

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Excluding one large provider that was not able to provide disaggregated data, the majority of MH

treatment staff across the PHN are engaged as full-time (322) and part-time (204) employees.

Relatively few MH treatment staff are engaged on casual basis (34), while 144 individuals operate

as contractors with ABN.

The survey asked respondents to identify whether or not their organisation engaged staff with

specific qualifications for the delivery of MH services (i.e. excluding corporate functions). They also

reported the most common qualification amongst their staff.

Out of 60 MH providers across the PHN, 32 (53%) reported engaging staff with Diploma or

Certificate II or IV, 31 reported staff with other professional degrees, 30 reported social workers

and 24 psychologists.

Across the PHN, 23 providers (38%) engage volunteers – which might include student placements–

to deliver MH treatment services and 20 reported employing peer workers. Only 3 (5%) engage a

psychiatrist.

In each of the three regional areas, similar qualifications (Diploma/Certificate II or IV, other

professionals, social worker and psychologists) were also commonly reported by providers.

Volunteers and peer workforce were reported by 41% of providers in the Sunshine Coast (13 out of

32) and 39% in Wide Bay (11 out of 28).

In Central Queensland out of 17 MH providerss, 5 (i.e. 29%) reported volunteers, while 4 (i.e. 24%)

reported engaging peer workers.

QUALIFICATIONS OF STAFF DELIVERING MH SERVICES

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MH STAFF QUALIFICATIONS

PHN CENTRAL

QUEENSLAND WIDE BAY SUNSHINE

COAST

N % N % N % N %

Psychiatrist 3 5% 1 6% 1 4% 2 6%

GP 5 8% 2 12% 2 7% 2 6%

Psychologist 24 40% 9 53% 12 43% 13 41%

MH Nurse 10 17% 3 18% 4 14% 4 13%

Social Worker 30 50% 9 53% 12 43% 18 56%

Occupational Therapist 7 12% 3 18% 4 14% 4 13%

Other Professionals 31 52% 8 47% 16 57% 19 59%

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Worker 12 20% 5 29% 3 11% 6 19%

Diploma/Certificate 32 53% 9 53% 16 57% 18 56%

CBT Training 16 27% 5 29% 7 25% 8 25%

Peer Workforce 20 33% 4 24% 11 39% 13 41%

Volunteers 23 38% 5 29% 11 39% 13 41%

Total providers (do not add up) 60 17 28 32

23

Out of 55 PHN providers, 15 (27%)

reported Diploma/Certificate II or IV as the

most common qualification of their MH

services staff (excluding volunteers). It was

followed by other professionals (12

providers, 22%) and social worker (11

providers, 20%).

Psychology was reported as the most

common professional qualification

amongst MH treatment staff by 10

organisations (18%).

Across each of the three regional areas, a

high proportion of providers report

Diploma/Certificate II or IV and other

professions as the most common staff

qualifications.

Psychology was reported as the most

common staff qualification by 7 out of 29

providers in the Sunshine Coast (24%) and

by 5 out of 27 providers in Wide Bay

(19%).

In Central Queensland, 2 out of 16

providers (13%) reported Psychology as

the most common staff qualification.

MOST COMMON PROFESSIONAL

QUALIFICATIONS

MOST COMMON MH STAFF QUALIFICATIONS

CENTRAL QUEENSLAND WIDE BAY SUNSHINE COAST PHN

N % N % N % N %

GP 3 5.45% 2 12.50% 1 3.70% 0 0%

Psychologist 10 18.18% 2 12.50% 5 18.52% 7 24.14%

MH Nurse 3 5.45% 2 12.50% 1 3.70% 1 3.45%

Social Worker 11 20% 3 18.75% 4 14.81% 4 13.79%

Other professionals 12 21.82% 4 25% 6 22.22% 7 24.14%

Diploma/Certificate 15 27.27% 3 18.75% 10 37.04% 9 31.03%

Peer workforce 1 1.82% 0 0% 0 0% 1 3.45%

Total Providers 55 100 16 100 27 100 29 100

24

The survey aimed to identify the number of providers receiving financing for the delivery of MH

services from traditional sources of MH funding.

Out of 60 MH providers in the PHN, 42 (70%) receive Commonwealth funding and 28 (47%) receive

State government funding for the delivery of MH services.

Philanthropic organisations fund MH services delivered by 10 providers (17%), while private sector

contributes to funding MH services for 9 providers.

Only 5 out of 60 PHN providers receive Local government funding for their MH services.

In Central Queensland, most providers (14 out of 17, 82%) receive Commonwealth funding. A

higher proportion of providers–relative to other regional areas- also receive funding from State (9

providers, 53%) and Local governments (3 providers, 18%).

Out of 28 MH providers delivering services in Wide Bay, 20 (71%) receive funding from the

Commonwealth government, while only 11 (39%) receive Local government funding.

Private and philanthropic sources of funding are received by 4 and 5 providers in Wide Bay,

respectively

In the Sunshine Coast a higher proportion of MH providers receive funding from philanthropic (8

out of 32 providers, 25%) and private sources (6 providers, 19%).

FUNDING FOR MH SERVICES

MH PROVIDERS - SOURCES OF FUNDING

CENTRAL

QUEENSLAND WIDE BAY SUNSHINE

COAST PHN

N % N % N % N %

Commonwealth 42 70% 14 82% 20 71% 23 72%

State Gov. 28 47% 9 53% 11 39% 16 50%

Local Gov. 5 8% 3 18% 2 7% 2 6%

Private 9 15% 3 18% 4 14% 6 19%

Philanthropic 10 17% 2 12% 5 18% 8 25%

Total providers (do not add up) 60 17 28 32

25

Out of 55 MH providers receiving targeted population funding across the PHN, 21 receive funding

for delivering services to clients with complex needs, 18 for targeting children and young people

and 17 for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations.

In CQ, 12 MH providers receive targeted funding population. Most of them (9) receive funding for

complex needs clients, while 8 receive funding for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations

and 7 for targeting those in rural and remote areas.

A half of providers operating in CQ (6 out of 12) receive targeted funding for children/youth and

economically disadvantaged individuals.

Out of 16 MH providers in Wide Bay that receive targeted population funding, 11 receive for

clients with complex needs and 10 for children/youth.

Economically disadvantaged, rural and remote, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander

populations are each targeted by funding sources across a half of providers (8) in Wide Bay.

In the Sunshine Coast

area, 9 out of 17

providers receive

targeted funding for

complex needs clients,

children/youth and

homeless populations.

Other commonly

targeted population

groups in the Sunshine

Coast are Aboriginal and

Torres Strait Islander

people, ageing

populations and those

from culturally and

linguistically diverse

groups

Surveyed providers were asked about the

extent to which they receive funding for the

delivery of MH services to specific groups of

the population.

Out of 60 MH providers in the PHN, 33

(55%) receive targeted population funding.

The proportion is highest in Central

Queensland (71%), followed by Wide Bay

(57%) and the Sunshine Coast (53%).

TARGETED POPULATION FUNDING

26

Specific geographical locations, such as remote areas, are other common funding targets for MH

services.

The majority of providers in the PHN (34 out of 60, 57%) receive funding targeting specific

geographical areas.

Most providers in Sunshine Coast (20 out of

32, 63%) and Wide Bay (16 out of 28, 57%)

receive funding for delivering services in

specific geographical areas.

In Central Queensland, the PHN regional

area with the highest proportion of people

living in outer rural and/or remote areas, 8

out of 17 MH providers (47%) receive

geographical targeted funding.

TARGETED GEOGRAPHICAL FUNDING

The introduction of a stepped cared model to the delivery of mental health services in Australia

was recommended by the National Review of Mental Health Programmes and Services 2014. It

aims to align the provision of MH interventions with the level of clinical need for each individual.

The steps of care start with low intensity services -such as guided self-help- targeting individuals

with mild conditions and move across the spectrum of need to include more intensive

interventions -such as residential care- for patients with severe, persistent and complex mental

illness.

The survey aimed to gauge the extent to which respondents were familiar with the stepped care

model to MH services.

Across the PHN, 55% of survey

respondents (33 out of 60 providers)

had never heard or did not know much

about the stepped care approach to

mental health.

Out of 60 providers in the PHN

catchment, 17 are familiar with the

stepped care model, while 10 know its

implications for the delivery of MH

services.

KNOWLEDGE OF STEPPED CARE MODEL

27

The PHN sincerely thanks the organisations and individuals who participated in the survey for their

generosity in providing information to enable the PHN to build a picture of current services across

the region. The information presented in this report will be used by the PHN in relation to plan-

ning and commissioning services and to support the integrated delivery of mental health and

suicide prevention services within the community.

While the Australian Government Department of Health has contributed to the funding of this material, the information contained in it does not

necessarily reflect the views of the Australian Government and is not advice that is provided, or information that is endorsed, by the Australian

Government. The Australian Government is not responsible in negligence or otherwise for any injury, loss or damage however arising from the

use of or reliance on the information provided herein.