UARbh

40
newparadigm Spring 2015
Psychiatric Disability Services
of Victoria (VICSERV)
newparadigm
VOX POP
A stronger focus on the interface with community based
mental health programs and drug treatment services is
a critical piece of the jigsaw we still need to work on. A
significant number of consumers are likely to need both
– being able to join these up is an improvement we can
continue to make.
What changes would you like to see to the current
MHCSS system, if it or a similar system was retained?
Jennifer Beveridge
Abolishing catchment-restricted access to services would enable
people to engage with services that they choose to provide their
support and intervention. This would enable individual choice and
person-centred care to facilitate real engagement with services,
as Victorians embrace the principle of consumer choice.
Samantha Kolasa
I would like to see more social group-based activities. I would like
people to understand that just being part of a group or spending time
socially with other people who have mental health issues, is often
enough to maintain people and keep them well. These people may
not need any more support that feeling like they belong. A lot of the
time mainstream groups/programs in the community still isolate or
“don’t fit” these people. I would like to see a focus on supporting
people to support each other.
Sally Parnell
The current MHCSS has placed unrealistic barriers to service access,
like the phone-based intake process and requirement to have a
diagnosis, in the path of hard to engage people with mental illness,
including young people. Intake needs to be more integrated with
other programs, and a stronger focus placed on creating opportunities
for social inclusion.
Karenza Louis-Smith
A stronger focus on the interface with community based mental
health programs and drug treatment services is a critical piece of the
jigsaw we still need to work on. A significant number of consumers
are likely to need both – being able to join these up is an improvement
we can continue to make.