Building collaborative cultures of care

within NSW mental health services

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Local policy and practice

Systems, processes and tools of care are locally designed and implemented in collaboration with people with lived experience of mental health issues and caring, families and kinship groups to facilitate culturally appropriate individualised approaches to care.

In practice

  • Involving people with lived experience, their families, kinship groups and carers in the review of incidents and care decisions, in accordance with wishes of the person with a lived experience.
  • Encouraging the use of systems to actively promote partnership between the person, their family and carers, and the treating team, in recognising and escalating deterioration.
  • Establishing one primary contact who is responsible for coordinating care or sharing the support role with a variety of kinship members, depending on the person’s preferences. The role of a care coordinator or key contact nurse may be beneficial in this situation.
  • Using appropriate tools to prepare for inpatient care, including assessment practices.
  • Using tablets when care planning and reducing the number of desktop computers in the staff station (enabling greater consumer, carer and multidisciplinary input).
  • Setting up warm and welcoming therapeutic environments.
  • Supporting the development and implementation of new models of care to support collaborative cultures.

Examples

Introduction of a new engaging model of care

Launched The Mental Health Patient Safety Program to improve quality of care provided to consumers.

Systems, practices and care planning

Implementation of consumer and carer escalation of care delivery into mental health inpatient units

Implemented REACH - a consumer and carer escalation process of care.

Systems, practices and care planning

TOP 5

Top 5 - talk to the carer, obtain the information, personalise the care, 5 strategies- is a process that encourages health professionals to engage with carers to gain valuable non-clinical information to help personalise care.

http://www.cec.health.nsw.gov.au/quality-improvement/people-and-culture/person-centred-care/top5

Systems, practices and care planning

Resources