GP Clinic: promoting access to primary health care for mental health service clients

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate an innovative rural service offering comprehensive primary health care for mental health service clients.

Design: A formative evaluation using mixed methods.

Setting: A rural NSW community.

Participants: Fifteen health care providers and 120 adult clients.

Intervention: A monthly clinic held in a general practice to provide primary health care for clients of the community mental health team.

Main outcome measures: Client utilisation and clinic activity data. Provider views of service effectiveness, possible improvements and sustainability.

Results: The GP Clinic has operated successfully for 2.5 years without access block. Some 52% of clients had no physical illness and 82% were referred to other health and community services. In total, 40% continued to attend the clinic while 32% went on to consult a GP independently. Client access to care improved as did collaboration between the community mental health team and primary care providers.

Conclusion: The GP Clinic is a straightforward and flexible service model that could be used more widely.