Mental Health
Kia Ora and welcome to MidCentral Health's Mental Health Services. Mental Health services provide mental health care to people with moderate to severe mental illness.
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Mental Health Services Information
Key Workers
Discharge from the Mental Health Service
Your Rights and Responsibilities
MidCentral Health provides comprehensive mental health care including:
- 24 hours, seven days a week mental health emergency response
- Community based mental health care
- Acute inpatient services (including high needs mental health care)
- Day activity/rehabilitation programmes
- General hospital liaison psychiatry
- Outreach clinics
- Child, Adolescent and Family, Alcohol and Other Drug Service
- Alcohol and Other Drug Service
- Specialist Maori Mental Health Service (Oranga Hinengaro)
- Service co-ordination
- Intensive rehabilitation and treatment
Specialist teams include:
- Dual Diagnosis
- Eating Disorders
- Maternal Mental Heath
What do Mental Health Teams do?
Mental Health Teams can provide:
- Consultation, assessment and treatment for people with suspected or diagnosed moderate to severe mental illnesses. Clinicians who specialise in provision of treatment for eating disorders, maternal mental health and dual diagnosis (mental disorder diagnosis and drug/alcohol dependence, or mental health diagnosis and intellectual disability)
- Individual, group or family therapy
- Medication
- Cognitive, behavioural and dynamic psychotherapy
- Education on your mental health condition, and on the medication you have been prescribed
- Cultural assessment, liaison and support
- Identification of strengths, support systems
- Co-ordination of treatment between several agencies and health providers
- Crisis intervention and crisis respite
- Mental health rehabilitation, follow-up and outreach clinics
- Consultation and liaison services for other providers and community groups
The alcohol and drug service can provide:
- Alcohol and drug information, consultation and education
- Drug screening and diagnostics (hepatitis, HIV testing, liver function)
- Assessment, counselling and group work
- Methadone programme
- Assessment for home and inpatient detox service
- Youth and children's programme
- Referral to residential treatment
Composition of Mental Health Teams
Mental health teams are muti-disciplinary teams which typically comprise the following staff:
- Psychiatrists
- Community psychiatric nurses
- Social workers
- Occupational therapists
- Psychologists
- Therapists and counsellors
- Support workers
- Clerical staff
- Service manager and clinical co-ordinator
Gaining Access, and Entry to the Mental Health Service
To gain access to the Mental Health Service, consumer should have, or be suspected of having, a moderate to severe mental illness.
Consumers are referred to the Mental Health Services by primary care practitioners (GPs), although they may be referred by families, other health providers, community and statutory organisations, schools and Special Education Services. Self-referrals are also accepted.
Entry to the mental health service:
At the time of your entry to the service, you will be asked to complete a registration form. This sheet contains information about you, contact details of your family/whanau/carers/next of kin as well as identifying your specific needs.
You will also be given a 'General Information Sheet' to inform you that consent will be sought from you before any treatment is prescribed (unless you are a consumer receiving treatment under the Mental Health [Compulsory assessment and treatment] Amendment Act, 1999 and are required to receive treatment prescribed by your responsible clinician).
Provision of Assessment, Care and Treatment
Care is provided by trained health professionals who specialise in provision of mental health care. You, as a consumer, will have a key worker who will be your first point of contact if you have any mental health needs. After office hours, you will have access to mental health care via the Mental Health Emergency Team.
Your comfort and safety and the comfort and safety of your family/whanau is important to the Mental Health Service, and is considered when arranging appointments. You may be able to see your key worker at the Community Mental Health Team base, or at home, marae or other setting. The decision about this is made in consultation with you.
Mental Health Services encourages your family/whanau/carers to remain involved in your treatment. Contact is made with them with your consent, however contact can be made without your consent if you are being assessed or treated under the Mental Health [Compulsory assessment and treatment] Amendment Act, 1999.
Mental Health services encourage you and your family to participate in the development of your treatment plan (Integrated Treatment Plan). your clinicians will also help you to identify warning signs of becoming unwell and discuss with you what you should do if you are becoming unwell.
The purpose of the Integrated Treatment Plan is to help you find ways to achieve your recovery, and to empower you to take responsibility for accomplishing some tasks.
A copy of your Integrated Treatment Plan will be given to you. If you do not have a copy of your plan, please ask for one. We also encourage you to make a copy of your treatment plan available to your family/whanau/carers.
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Last Updated 29/10/2007