Clinical mental health service catchments - consultation paper

Victoria's current system of area-based clinical mental health services is in need of change. Across the metropolitan area, the structure of 13 adult, 9 aged persons and 5 child and adolescent services no longer offers an adequate basis for providing accessible, sustainable and mainstreamed specialist mental health services. Reconfiguring the catchment areas under which clinical mental health services are organised is a key step in delivering the kind of seamless, easy-to-navigate system that consumers and carers expect. It is also important for achieving optimal efficiency and effectiveness across the state. Whilst the realignment of clinical catchments alone will not guarantee all of these outcomes, it is an important prerequisite for achieving a more responsive and sustainable service system.