MEDICUS MARCH 2016

C O V E R S T O R Y

Q&A with Adjunct Professor John Mendoza Director, ConNetica

D uring this time of reform in the mental health sector, ConNetica, a leading consultancy business that works in health and community services, is collaborating with a number of leading Primary Health Networks (PHNs) across Australia on projects that will influence the direction of this change. One of the key aspects of this work is the Integrated Atlas of Mental Health which will map all the services for people experiencing mental ill-health (children and adults) and their families, providing care in a local health district. The Atlas will also map Alcohol and Other Drug services. ConNetica Director, ADJUNCT PROFESSOR JOHN MENDOZA explains how the mapping project in Western Australia – the very first time that an entire Australian state will be charted – will help to provide a sound basis for long-term service planning and development, and significantly advance our collective efforts on integrated care and achieving improved outcomes for all service users. Q. Why an integrated atlas of mental health? JM: The project has its roots in WHO’s Mental Health Atlas series, which is considered the most comprehensive and widely used source of information on the global mental health situation. These atlases include detailed information on social and demographic

interactive platform, which will allow WAPHA, the Mental Health Commission and the organisations they fund to provide timely and comprehensive updates. This will enable a real time view of the array of current services. Q. How is the WA atlas project unique and what are the expected challenges? JM: This project is unique in that the entire state is being covered. WA is pretty well defined in terms of the area health service regions and the maps will relate to those catchments. Certainly we want to ensure that we capture all the services related to the 71 hospitals around the State, but in some really remote areas, the only existing service may be a pharmacy. So we will adapt depending on the circumstances. In far western NSW for instance, there are a number of FIFO and telehealth services, which we had to incorporate in the mapping. We expect to have similar challenges in WA as I am sure we will come across services that are uniquely structured. The vastness of the State will, no doubt, be our biggest challenge. However, we have a highly experienced team supported by a robust interview process, which makes us confident in our ability to unearth the evidence. The other issue we will have to consider is the change fatigue that

characteristics and health-related needs, as well as data on services availability and care capacity. Atlases of health provide detailed insight and allow comparison between small health areas, highlighting variations of care, and detecting gaps in the provision of services. Q. How successful have similar mapping projects been in areas such as Far West NSW and Brisbane North? JM: The real test will be over time, and we will have to consider the questions: have the atlases resulted in material changes to service structures; have they provided evidence of greater efficiencies in healthcare? That said, changes are underway in the Brisbane North region with new services being commissioned that are designed to divert people from emergency departments as a direct result of the work we undertook there last year. The data is available for planners and policy makers to make better evidence-informed decisions than before. Q. How often does the Atlas project have to be repeated? JM: In Australia, we have a terrible habit of pilot programs, which often means three years or less of funding. Typically overseas, a period of four years is used to recommission a work such as this. One of the future goals of the WA project is to introduce a digital

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