“The Australian Government announcement recognises the importance of embedding mental health and well-being, as part of general practice and primary healthcare,” he said. 

“A fundamental role for Western Victoria PHN is local health service integration.

“Working closely with all levels of government, general practice, other service providers and local hospital networks we have a fantastic opportunity to focus our efforts at a regional level to achieve better whole of system integration, to best meet the individual needs of patients across western Victoria.”

“The integration of primary and mental health care provides a whole of person approach, requiring a whole of system approach, to improve the health and well-being of those suffering a mental illness.

“We are pleased to note the strong emphasis on supporting those who suffer much of the burden of disease, particularly Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people.”

“Regional service integration is critical to improve efficiencies and patient outcomes.

“Through providing mental health funding directly to PHNs, this structural and funding reform recognises the scale and impact of mental health issues across Australia.

“According to the National Mental Health Commission, over a lifetime, nearly half our population will experience a mental illness at some point. Around four to five million Australians suffer some form of mental illness in any given year.

“It is ranked the third largest chronic disease, after cancer and heart disease. 

“Western Victoria PHN, working in partnership with all our stakeholders, has a key role to play in realising effective and lasting improvement in mental health outcomes.

“This will be achieved by adopting a person-centred approach in service design and enabling integration across service providers, ensuring our communities achieve the best possible mental health and well-being. 

“We will move away from a ‘one size fits all’ approach to a stepped care approach, which matches services to local community need.

“Funding will commence from 1 July 2016 from a national funding pool of $350 million and from 2018 we will commission all regionally delivered Commonwealth funded, primary mental health and suicide services. 

“We will start working immediately with our partners and stakeholders, building strong local connections to ensure service continuity is maintained for our community and enhancing services in the short term.

“There are a lot of great services across western Victoria, working closely with patients - it will be about working towards services that are joined up so patients are receiving the right care, where and when they need it.”