Mental Health Portal Pilot

Mental health service organisations across Australia are being invited to take part in a free 12-month pilot of a new service that aims to cut the time and cost of completing and reporting on quality standards.

Community Mental Health Australia (CMHA) and the Commonwealth Departments of Health and Social Services have launched the pilot which offers access to an online service called Standards & Performance Pathways.

The service is available for about 70 mental health services organisations that receive funding from the Commonwealth Departments of Health and/or Social Services.

Standards & Performance Pathways (SPP) is an online service that reduces the time and effort spent on quality standards assessment and compliance reporting. The service includes self-assessments, automatically generated work plans, progress tracking and evidence document management.

“We are pleased to be part of a pilot that helps mental health services organisations create efficiencies in standards assessment and compliance reporting,” Jane Bradfield, Director of BNG NGO Services Online, which operates the service.

“Among the many standards mapped on the SPP is the National Standards for Mental Health Services (NSMHS), critical for  mental health services organisations.

“Developed for application across the broad range of mental health services, the NSMHS help services respond to the needs and expectations of consumers and carers.

“Many organisations are multi-service outlets or funded to provide a range of different services, which often means they have to show they comply with a number of different standards,” Bradfield said.

“One of the main reasons behind developing the SPP was to address this issue of multiple standards and the administrative burden it can place on organisations. The SPP carries the key sets of community services and health sector standards. It cross-references with  other core sets of standards so organisations can complete multiple sets of standards by completing a single set.”

To find out more about the Mental Health Portal Pilot or to register, click here