THE FRASER Coast community is benefitting from an innovative program which sees a partnering of Wide Bay Hospital and Health Service (WBHHS) mental health clinicians with the Queensland Ambulance Service (QAS) to respond to people experiencing mental health distress.

The Mental Health Co-Responder (MH-CoRe) program offers faster access to care for Hervey Bay and Maryborough locals in mental health crisis. Working in partnership, a senior WBHHS mental health clinician and a QAS senior paramedic attend mental health emergencies, providing assessment and care on the ground where it’s most needed.

MH-CoRe Team Leader Anna Anderson said the MH-CoRe program puts patients and their individual needs at the forefront of care delivery and allows both WBHHS and QAS to tailor services with each emergency call.

“Prior to launching this service, people in significant mental health distress often called an ambulance or went to the emergency department,” Ms Anderson said.

“This program does not replace the need for existing mental health services, it complements these services and allows for timely and responsive assessment and referral, if needed.”

WBHHS Acting Chief Executive Robyn Scanlan said the MH-CoRe program demonstrates WBHHS’s commitment to provide care, connection, compassion for all.

“This service supports people calling 000 for mental health support by providing treatment outside the emergency department, we’re also improving wait times for people who do present at emergency.” Ms Scanlan said.

Queensland Ambulance Service, Mental Health Response Program Director Sandra Garner said we know emergency departments aren’t always the best place for patients suffering a mental health crisis.

“That is where the MH-CoRe teams are able to provide the same care and treatment which would occur in an emergency department to people in their own environment,” Ms Garner said.

Ms Scanlan said the co-responder program has proven successful across pilot sites throughout the state for both consumers and health services.

Early indications suggest a similar level of success locally since it launched in February, with the WBHHS MH-CoRe team having supported 32 emergency calls which has resulted in 19 people not needing to be transported to an emergency department.