Building collaborative cultures of care

within NSW mental health services

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Purpose

The ACI is responsible for leading a process to identify key principles and develop strategies to strengthen consumer and carer partnership in mental health services, with a focus on care planning to prevent restrictive practices.7

This web resource supports the development of collaborative cultures in NSW mental health services. It is framed by the 19 recommendations in the 2017 Review of seclusion, restraint and observation of consumers with a mental illness in NSW Health facilities. The recommendations were accepted by the NSW Government on 18 December 2017 and an implementation plan was developed.78

It aims to support the overarching visions for mental health system transformation by addressing two specific recommendations of the review and implementation plan:

  • Recommendation 11: Individualised care planning is essential to prevention of seclusion and restraint, but is inconsistent across services. Meaningful engagement with consumers and their families should occur in assessment and care planning, particularly in developing personal plans to prevent the use of restrictive practices.
    • Action 11.1 of the Implementation Plan: – Strengthen consumer and family engagement in assessment and care planning, informed by the Mental Health Commission of NSW’s Lived Experience Framework with the expected outcome that LHDs and SHNs will evidence compliance through care plans that are co-signed, documented and shared with consumers and families.
  • Recommendation 12: There is evidence supporting the importance of co-design. No convincing examples of co-design were seen during the review. Consumer and carer co-design and systematic engagement should occur at all levels of the health service.

Included in this document are the principles, strategies, practical examples and resources to strengthen therapeutic partnerships between clinicians, peer workers, managers and people with lived experience, and carers, families and kinship groups at the service level.

Resources