Public Mental Health Service Delivery: A Modified Model

Abstract

In the last few years, the Commonwealth and many of the states have worked at developing principles of service delivery for the public mental health sector. Whiteford [1] has described one key initiative, the National Mental Health Policy, with the initial five-year Strategy due to end in mid-1998. The Strategy was developed collaboratively, involving and respecting the views of many of the key groups, and a number of impressive documents and policy decisions have been developed. Many of its central components represent important advances, are non-controversial and are generally accepted, and are presumabl immutable planks that will underpin the next phase of the Strategy – subject to its funding. As for any strategy, there are issues that may benefit from review and revision, and I would like to focus on service models and funding.