General Practitioner Liaison Service (Rockingham/Kwinana Mental Health Service)
The General Practitioner (GP) Liaison Service for the Rockingham/Kwinana Mental Health Service provides the following services to GPs treating adult patients aged 18 to 65 years:
- case conference assessments for opinion and management by consultant psychiatrist
- clinic assessments for opinion and recommendation by senior medical practitioner.
The team includes a consultant psychiatrist, senior medical practitioner and clinical nurse specialist.
Read more about this service below, or about other mental health referral pathways.
Case conference assessments provide opinion and management by a consultant psychiatrist in GP’s nominated practice. At the assessment will be the:
- GP Liaison consultant psychiatrist
- GP Liaison clinical nurse specialist
- GP
- referred patient.
Most assessments take about 45 minutes, however we ask one hour is allocated to allow time for a clinical debrief after the appointment.
The GP and consultant psychiatrist jointly assess the patient, leading to a diagnosis and management plan. The GP documents the assessment in their notes at the time of the consultation.
We kindly request patients are bulk billed for these assessments.
- Medicare item 739 – conference duration at least 20 minutes and less than 40 minutes
- Medicare item 743 – conference duration at least 40 minutes
Case conference referral criteria
- Patients with moderate anxiety and depression who would benefit from a more in-depth assessment and clarification of optimum management after GP initiated treatment has not been successful.
- Individuals with somatic symptoms but no evidence of organic problems.
- Individuals with significant medical illness(es) presenting with symptoms that could also indicate psychological/psychiatric disorder.
- Diagnostic and management dilemmas requiring further assessment to clarify the management plan.
- Individuals with enduring severe mental illness requiring joint reassessment of mental state and treatment.
Referrals for the following are not suitable:
- legal opinions
- compensation cases
- ADHD as a primary diagnosis
- primary drug and alcohol issues
- crisis intervention and acute risks regarding safety.
Clinic assessments provide opinion and recommendation by a senior medical practitioner.
After a patient is referred to the Rockingham/Kwinana Mental Health Service, it may be determined during the multidisciplinary intake meeting that they are suitable for brief medical intervention.
This would be one to two medical assessments with case management by the GP Liaison clinical nurse specialist (maximum 4 – 6 weeks).
Clinic assessment referral criteria
- Direct GP referrals or being referred directly back to an identified GP.
- GP requesting simple diagnostic clarification or medication review.
- Requiring one off, or a maximum of two medical reviews, with plus or minus 4 – 6 week case management by GP clinical nurse specialist.
Referral process
The following process applies for both case conference and clinic assessments.
- Complete a referral form to Rockingham/Kwinana Mental health service. Please make clear if you are seeking an appointment for a case conference assessment or a clinic assessment for opinion and recommendation.
- The referral form will be triaged by our duty officer and discussed at the morning intake.
- Once triaged and deemed appropriate, the GP Liaison clinical nurse specialist will coordinate the assessment and liaise with the patient and practice staff.
Following assessment
A letter detailing the assessment and agreed management plan will be forwarded to the GP within two weeks.
The agreed management plan will be documented in point form for ease of following.
Other services
Other services provided by the GP Liaison team include:
- GP phone contact for consultation/medication queries.
- Assistance with PaRK Empowering Patients Program (PEPP) discharge transitioning.
- Shared Care clozapine program.
- Support to practice nurses regarding long acting injectables.
- GP clinic inreach and support by GP Liaison clinical nurse specialist.
Contact us
GP Liaison Service
If you have any further queries or require additional information, please contact the GP Liaison CNS between 8.30am – 4.30pm:
- Phone: 9528 0600
- Fax: 9529 1266