Evaluation of the Western NSW Primary Health Network Mental Health Nurse Incentive Program

The Mental Health Nurse Incentive Program (MHNIP) was introduced nationally in July 2007 and since 2016/2017 MHNIP services have been commissioned through the Primary Health Networks (PHNs). Contracted providers, general practices, private psychiatry practices and Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services (ACCHSs) are provided payments to support a mental health nurse to provide coordinated care to people with severe and persistent mental illness. Western Sydney University's Bathurst Rural Clinical School was engaged by the Western New South Wales (NSW) PHN in 2019 to undertake an evaluation of MHNIP services across the region. Western NSW PHN operates within a stepped care framework with regards to planning and commissioning of mental health services. A range of mental health services have been commissioned across the region to service different population groups and to cater to the different levels of treatment intensity, including MHNIP for severe and persistent mental illness. At the time of initiation of the evaluation, MHNIP in western NSW was comprised of eight primary sites located in: Bathurst, Orange, Cowra, Dubbo, Broken Hill, Bourke, Walgett and Cobar. The aim of the evaluation was to examine the implementation and outcomes of MHNIP in the western NSW PHN region. More specifically, to describe the facilitators and barriers of the implementation of the service, the capacity-building and health promotion activities of the service, the social, physical and mental health outcomes of participants engaged in the service and the cultural safety of the service.