Mental health emergency e-Bulletin
19 May 2010
Dear [FirstName],
When we all pull together in the same direction there we are an unstoppable force.
Yesterday Kandie Allen-Kelly, Stephen Brand (Convenor of the national mental health committee) and Karl Charikar, the Senior Manager for Advocacy and Communications met with Nicola Roxon’s Chief of Staff (the most senior person in her office) - Angela Pratt and the First Assistant Secretary, Mental Health & Chronic Disease Division, Department of Health and Ageing, Georgie Harman.
The tone of the meeting was set when the Minister’s chief of staff apologised for the poor manner in which the decision had been communicated and for not talking with the AASW and the profession ahead of time.
Our media release is here and there should be some coverage tomorrow in some newspapers.
Government Concessions
The AASW was able to negotiate a number of significant concessions. Only some of these are contained in Minister Roxon’s press release the remainder will be signed off in a separate letter to the AASW and have been confirmed by email already.
I recognise that many of you will read the Government's media release and feel slightly confused, as it is written in a way to provide what we want without admitting too much. We'll provide a more detailed analysis of the release to assist you all as soon as we can.
1. The Government will defer any changes to the Better Access (Medicare) program until 1 April 2011. Until 1 April next year, therefore, mental health social workers will continue to be able to provide services and receive a Medicare rebate under the Better Access arrangements.
2. The Government committed to give the AASW an equal role with allied and other health professions in the shaping of Federal policy on mental health.
3. The Government committed to treat all allied health professions the same.
4. The Government invited Kandie, as CEO, to participate in the Better Access Evaluation Steering Committee, alongside GPs, Psychiatrists and Psychologists. We won a seat at the table.
5. The Department of Health and Ageing committed to work with AASW on the design of the new funding the Government will invest in the Access to Allied Psychological Services (ATAPS) program. This means we will have influence in shaping the provision of the new mental health system from its outset.
6. Our aim will be to take the best of the Better Access program and make sure it is carried over to the reformed ATAPS program. We will be working to ensure that client-centred, integrated and coordinated care is incorporated as the foundation of any care arrangement. These will be flexible and responsive to individual and community needs.
7. The Government invited our views on how the current non-Medicare mental health programs such as the mental health in rural and remote communities program, can be strengthened to deliver better services to low income and disadvantaged people, and I will seek advice from key members to inform our feedback.
8. They recognised that many divisions of General Practice had not engaged properly with social workers and offered to work on improving this. They agreed to strengthen the service agreements that the Department has with the Divisions of General Practice, so that the Divisions are more likely to refer to social workers to provide clinical services. This is the first step on a long path.
9. They agreed to strengthen the accreditation requirement for the ATAPS arrangements, to bring them into line with those for Better Access and we will recommend that only accredited AMHSWs will be employed under the ATAPS programs.
10. The Department of Health and Ageing will work with the AASW to assist members and clients to transition into the new arrangements.
11. They heard us clearly when we emphasised the clinical expertise, as well as care coordination skills. One of the points of tension had been the Government’s statement that the new funding would provide work for social workers and OTs to do care coordination. We made to be clear that our specialist mental health members have considerable clinical expertise and they heard this. This is the first time the Government has taken this point on board and it stands us in good stead for future work across a range of health issues such as the new Primary Health Care Organisations and Medicare Local.
Next steps
What members and the Association have achieved in a week is remarkable. We have some breathing space and, for the first time, a seat at the table to contribute to reform of the mental health care system.
However this is just the beginning of a negotiation process and we have a long way to go to achieve acceptable outcomes for our members and their clients.
Many members have meetings and visits planned with MPs and interviews booked with media. Please continue them as planned, and feel free to use our media release today and these comments to inform your statements. Please use the tip sheet and briefing documents provided yesterday, and of course we'll update the briefing as soon as we physically can.
Use your practice examples and case studies to illustrate the concerns we have had about losing Better Access and the concerns we still have to ensure the new care packages deliver for our clients.
Urge your MPs to continue to watch closely the development of the new program.
Now that we have been given a seat at the table we want to hear from you about what elements are needed to make the new care arrangements better – how to reform ATAPS to make it work in the best interests of your clients.
Older e-bulletins on this issue
Some of you have reported not receiving these e-bulletins, and we've been investigating what may be causing problems. I therefore want to provide here the links to messages delivered since the budget, so that you you have access to them as much as possible.
12 May 2010
13 May 2010
15 May 2010
18 May 2010
Kind regards and heartfelt congratulations.
Kandie
Kandie Allen-Kelly
BSocWk MPhil MAASW (Acc)
Chief Executive Officer
Australian Association of Social Workers
P.O. Box 4956
Kingston ACT 2604
Tel: +61 2 6232 3903
Membership: 1800 630 124
ceo@aasw.asn.au
www.aasw.asn.au
|
