actcoss text final.indd - ACT Council of Social Service

Part 3: The relationship between the community mental health
sector and other parts of the community social service system
Introduction
This Part engages in an analysis of current
relationships between the community mental
health sector and other parts of the community
sector. In doing so, it explores the impact of service
integration, or the lack thereof, on outcomes for
service users and the community. Analysis is informed
by consultations, in which participants were asked
about the extent to which community services were
coordinated and linked. Several indicators of service
linkage were used, including referral and information
sharing networks, joint projects, formal agreements,
case management and coordination. These indicators
formed the basis of consultation questions, and
are consistent with those frequently used in
‘collaboration’ literature. 72
It should be noted that the boundaries of the
community mental health sector are not fixed, with a
number of non-mental health specific organisations
performing functions which fall within the service
range of the sector, in addition to functions which
lie outside. For example, a number of organisations
provide accommodation services in addition to
mental health services, while others provide a
range of social, emotional and wellbeing services
in addition to alcohol and other drug services or
primary health services. Therefore, the expressions
‘sector’ and ‘sub-sector’ in this context should be
understood flexibly. The focus on particular subsectors
is not intended to reflect a belief that service
areas need to be considered discretely. Rather, the
boundaries and transitions between sub-sectors (for
example, between the mental health and the alcohol
and other drug sectors) should ideally be seamless
and the service system well-integrated.
The need for a coordinated
system response
The prevalence of mental illness among service users
across the spectrum of services was a recurring
theme in consultations. This is reflected in the priority
allocated to mental health in the strategic plans of
a number of non-mental health specific community
sector peak bodies, as informed by their members
(e.g. Youth Coalition, ACTCOSS). Conversely, mental
health consumers who participated in consultations
indicated that, in addition to mental health services,
they frequently accessed employment services, long
term and crisis accommodation services, community
legal centres (for example, the Welfare Rights and
Legal Centre), free food services, church welfare and
crisis services (e.g. Salvation Army), multicultural and
migrant services and alcohol and drug services. The
importance of mental health services was recognised
by all of those consulted from across the community
service spectrum. This is consistent with the most
recent Community Sector Survey Report, in which
survey respondents highlighted health services
(including mental health and alcohol and drug
services) as the services most needed by
their clients. 73
Consumers who responded to a recent MHCN
survey indicated that service cooperation and
knowledge about services was a ‘preferred service
response’. They identified ‘consistent service
provision that focuses on maintaining connections’
as a preference. 74 In addition, they responded
that services would be easier to access if ‘good
networks of services [were] in place including health
professionals.’ 75 Only 50% of respondents indicated
that they had been linked with another service
following their time in inpatient services. 76
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72 For example, Provan and Sebastian (1998), ‘Networks within networks: Service link overlap, organizational cliques, and network effectiveness’, Academy of
Management Journal
41: 453-463 at 460, quoted by Dr Rae Walker, Collaboration and Alliances: A Review for Vichealth, September 2000, published by Victorian
Health Promotion Foundation at 17.
73 ACOSS Community Sector Survey 2007 at 87.
74 ACT Mental Health Consumer Network, Consumer Experiences of Mental Health Services in the ACT: Results of a survey about consumer experiences of mental
health services, January 2007 at 3.
75 Ibid at 5.
76 Ibid at 7.
NO WRONG DOORS Towards an integrated mental health service system in the ACT•June 2007
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