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.