Program under funding threat

A NEW but clunkily named mental health program which is seeing spectacularly good results in Coffs Harbour may close by February because it has no continuing funding.

The Mental Health and Drug and Alcohol Shared Care Clinical Co-ordination Program is a pilot program developed by General Practice NSW and funded by NSW Health which employs three psychologists and 10 mental health nurses across NSW, one of them in Coffs Harbour.

It enables GPs to refer patients with complex mental health, physical health and or addiction issues to a nurse specialising in mental health care who can help them to access a broad range of services from accommodation to nutrition and from education to psychology.

Renee McLaren says Coffs Harbour's shared-care co-ordinator Kate Hooper has brought her so far along in her journey to recovery she is now enrolled in a new university course and contemplating getting back to part-time work.

The lively and attractive 25-year-old's world fell apart three years ago when she began experiencing the symptoms of bipolar disorder, once known as manic depression.

She was misdiagnosed on a number of occasions by different medical professionals, given the wrong medication and even when this was corrected, suffered side effects she had not been warned about, like being unable to regulate her body temperature and suffering heat stroke.

"For a long time I felt there was no hope; my life was over and I was not going to go anywhere," Renee said.

"I found it very hard to deal with, because I had always had such high goals. I had been studying an economics degree and working in international accounting.

"When I was very sick I could not even read a single paragraph; I did not know what day it was or whether I was Arthur or Martha.

"I was in a constant fog in my head and I couldn't even think straight. I went days without a shower because I couldn't be bothered.

"There was not really any support - you can see a psychiatrist at the hospital for 15 minutes every three months. My GP is extremely supportive but he is not a mental health expert."

While she had been handed her diagnosis and medication, Renee said what was missing was one-to-one support, a way to find out about the ins and outs of her illness, how and why she had acquired it and how to manage it.

"When I first started with Kate, I gave her curry," Renee said. "But she helped me see there is life after mental illness and helped me manage it.

"It (the program) definitely works, because you are treated holistically."

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