A new Centre dedicated to helping enhance and improve child and adolescent and other mental health service offerings across Tasmania has been established through a partnership between the Department of Health and the University of Tasmania.
The Centre for Mental Health Service Innovation will lead reform in the state, embedding research, education and training across services and delivery as part of the Tasmanian Mental Health Reform Program.
The Centre for Mental Health Service Innovation will be based in part at the University’s Psychology Clinic at Sandy Bay.
“The University has a long history of working effectively with government and industry to deliver partnerships that drive innovation and transformative solutions,” University of Tasmania Executive Dean of the College of Health and Medicine, Professor Denise Fassett said.
“There is a significant increase in demand for particularly child and adolescent mental health services across the State.
“The Centre will assist to respond to this demand by ensuring the best processes, practises and systems are in place to meet the needs of Tasmanian children, adolescents and their families.
“This partnership between the University of Tasmania and the Department of Health, will provide specialist training and education; develop workforce sustainability plans and conduct community-based research which delivers meaningful change for communities across the State.”
Premier and Minister for Mental Health and Wellbeing Jeremy Rockliff said:
“The signing of this Memorandum of Understanding is the first step in what I hope will be an extremely positive, future focused partnership to improve innovation in mental health services across the State for all Tasmanians.”
The Centre will integrate research and education to help improve services by:
- Delivering training and further education opportunities to a range of mental health multi-disciplinary professions including nursing, psychology, allied health and medicine.
- Developing a workforce sustainability plan, which aligns training and recruitment to industry standards and meets current and future population demands and needs.
- Collaborating on new training pathways and growing new specialisations within the state to meet community needs.
- Undertaking research projects that are directly related to and aim to improve the lived experience of consumers and carers, and the updating and effectiveness of services in the mental health care setting.
- Improving and expanding technology to deliver telehealth/remote clinics for remote learning, supervision and service delivery.
The Centre for Mental Health Service Innovation is a key priority as part of the State Government’s Tasmanian Mental Health Reform Program, including the reform of the Tasmanian Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAHMS).