Government and Corporate Partnerships - Is This The Way Forward for Regional Mental Wellbeing?
Tracks
Mossman - In-Person
| Friday, November 8, 2024 |
| 11:10 AM - 11:40 AM |
| Mossman Ballroom |
Overview
Paul McFarlane, Converge International
Presenter
Paul McFarlane
General Manager- Onsite Wellbeing Support
Converge International
Government and Corporate Partnerships - Is This the Way Forward for Regional Mental Wellbeing?
Abstract
For many regional and remote Australian communities, getting access to localised mental health support has become almost impossible. The NSW Mental Health Commission recently reported that only 22% of regional and rural NSW residents report good access to mental health services. This comes at a time when regional communities have been disproportionately impacted by bushfires, catastrophic flooding, drought, spiralling cost of living impacts and fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic.
What regional communities are desperately asking for is for mental health services to be available in their own communities where people live, as well as access to service delivery through community hubs.
With over 60 years’ experience in supporting workplace mental health and wellbeing across regional and remote Australia, Converge International has learned many valuable lessons about wellbeing approaches that can positively shift individual and group wellbeing.
This presentation will outline some of the innovative models of care that have been developed to support Government staff servicing regional and remote communities and explore ways in which these models can be extended to other members of the communities where these employees live. Case studies will be shared which demonstrate how these models work and the impact they can have.
The presentation will also explore some of the supply factors hindering availability of qualified and experienced clinicians to work in these communities, and outline some of the strategies Converge uses to engage and retain rural mental health clinicians.
This session will demonstrate that when government departments and corporate mental health providers collaborate and work together, improving mental health outcomes is possible in regional and remote communities.
Three Key Learnings:
1. Discover the surprising mental health models that exist in many regional communities but are often unrecognised.
2. Explore ways that these wellbeing models can be leveraged through collaborative partnerships to broaden their impact.
3. Learn strategies that can potentially be used to engage and retain mental health clinicians in regional communities.
What regional communities are desperately asking for is for mental health services to be available in their own communities where people live, as well as access to service delivery through community hubs.
With over 60 years’ experience in supporting workplace mental health and wellbeing across regional and remote Australia, Converge International has learned many valuable lessons about wellbeing approaches that can positively shift individual and group wellbeing.
This presentation will outline some of the innovative models of care that have been developed to support Government staff servicing regional and remote communities and explore ways in which these models can be extended to other members of the communities where these employees live. Case studies will be shared which demonstrate how these models work and the impact they can have.
The presentation will also explore some of the supply factors hindering availability of qualified and experienced clinicians to work in these communities, and outline some of the strategies Converge uses to engage and retain rural mental health clinicians.
This session will demonstrate that when government departments and corporate mental health providers collaborate and work together, improving mental health outcomes is possible in regional and remote communities.
Three Key Learnings:
1. Discover the surprising mental health models that exist in many regional communities but are often unrecognised.
2. Explore ways that these wellbeing models can be leveraged through collaborative partnerships to broaden their impact.
3. Learn strategies that can potentially be used to engage and retain mental health clinicians in regional communities.
Biography
With over 25 years' experience in the emergency services and health care industries, Paul now brings his extensive workplace wellbeing experience to his role as General Manager - Onsite Wellbeing Services, at Converge International.
Under Paul’s leadership, Converge has embedded Wellbeing Consultants into more than 400 workplaces around Australia. The Onsite team provide accessible mental health care to employees as they navigate the challenges and complexity of our current times.
Paul is passionate about helping people to thrive and ensuring that best practice mental health and wellbeing care is available to the Australian workforce wherever they are located!
