NEW early intervention services will roll out across the region in a bid to meet the needs of young people with, or at risk of, severe mental illness.
Youth Complex Mental Health Services will target young people living in the Upper Hunter.
“The aim of these services is to fill a gap that Professor Pat McGorry has described as the missing middle,” Primary Health Network chief Richard Nankervis said.
“Currently, people with mild to moderate mental health conditions are well covered through the primary care system, and people who are in immediate and severe crisis are covered by the hospital sector, but presently there is inadequate specialist, multidisciplinary care in the middle. These new services will help fill that gap, and will be provided through existing headspace centres.”
Clinical and Service Integration Manager for headspace Maitland, Felicity Scott, said the services were “desperately needed”.
“We see many representations each month that would be better serviced by this specialist program, and we expect it to deliver fantastic outcomes for young people with complex mental health concerns,” she said.
“We have established a skilled and experienced team who are excited to start working across the Upper Hunter and Liverpool Plains areas.”
