COVID-19 distancing measures will have a big impact on community mental health, according to Dr Richard Tranter.
Dr Tranter is a psychiatrist and the District Medical Director for Mental Health Services at the Mid North Coast Local Health District. He sat down with us to answer some COVID-19 questions in our latest practitioner video.
“We would certainly expect to see an increase in common mental health problems such as anxiety and depression,” Dr Tranter says.
He explains that it is important for GPs to understand the stresses behind these presentations (eg. unemployment, isolation, family issues, financial hardship). These stresses will help to inform the required interventions.
“Those interventions aren’t going to lie purely within a medical model,” Dr Tranter says. “It is about linking people in with the necessary social supports, and the community supports. I think primary care is going to have to get increasingly adept at navigating clients through all the range of supports – and they are actually rapidly changing as well.”
Dr Tranter says it’s important to know about the changes to referral pathways, particularly into acute care.
“We’re really trying to minimise presentations to ED as much as we can. We have set up ED diversion pathways, so that those presentations that we can safely manage outside of the ED setting we can quickly divert to our community mental health teams.”
He strongly encourages GPs to seek input from LHD medical services if an acutely unwell patient presents.
“I’d have a direct conversation with one of our intake workers,” Dr Tranter says. “They will be able to talk through a triage with you to get a sense of what is the most appropriate pathway for that individual to follow.”
Check out the full video below to learn more.