Older Adult Mental Health Services (OAMHS)
The Older Adult Mental Health Service (OAMHS) program of North Metropolitan Area Health Service (NMAHS) Mental Health provides inpatient, day therapy and community services through the Joondalup OAMHS, Osborne Park OAMHS, Selby OAMHS, Swan Elderly Mental Health and Inner City Service for Older Adults. A Program Geriatric Psychiatry Consultation Liaison Team provides assessment and treatment planning to Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital.
The services operate in a program management model with a Clinical Director, Program Manager and Nurse Director as the Executive for the program. Each unit is represented on the Program Management Committee which is the governing body for the program.
The service teams are multidisciplinary with consultant psychiatry, medical, nursing, occupational therapy, rehabilitation, clinical psychology, social work, physiotherapy, speech pathology, podiatry and dietitic services.
Services provided
The OAMH services are integrated and provide:
- Community outreach
- Day therapy which includes assessment, rehabilitation, maintenance and treatment
- Inpatient Unit with the majority of beds being authorised under the Mental Health Act
- Carer support service
- Hostels and nursing homes support/liaison service
The wide range of services provided include:
- Psychiatric and medical diagnosis and assessment
- Wide range of general and mental health nursing assessment, monitoring treatment and discharge planning functions across inpatient community and day therapy settings
- Social work liaison - support to family and carers with advocacy and Guardianship Board liaison; access to community agencies and residential placement and associated requirements
- Clinical and neuro-cognitive assessments and interventions and behavioual management planning
- Occupational therapy functional assessment and rehabilitation planning
- Assessment and treatment of muscular-skeletal, cardio-respiratory and neurological problems with participation in fitness,mobility and falls risk assessment
The OAMHP interfaces with many primary care agencies assisting in shared care, case conferencing and treatment planning. Where possible consumers and carers are involved in treatment planning and are encouraged to access carer support services. Carers and consumers have representative positions on committees.
The program also has linkages with:
- Guardianship and Administrative Tribunal
- Office of the Chief Psychiatrist
- Mental Health Review Board
- Council of Official Visitors
- Non-government organisations
- General psychiatry services
- Geriatric medicine - complex referrals
- Private sector - hostels and nursing homes and some private hospitals
- Tertiary education for undergraduate and postgraduate training and teaching
- Professional Interest Groups - Faculty of Old Age Psychiatry RANZCP and Clinical Psychology of Old Age interest group
- Rural catchment areas: Osborne Park - Midwest; Selby - Kimberley and Pilbara; Swan - Midlands and Goldfields
Referrals
The OAMHS program provides services for older adults suffering from:
- Psychiatric disorder complicated by physical conditions of aging such as physical frailty,degenerative illness or dementia.
- Dementia complicated by severe behavioual disturbance.
- Newly arising psychiatric conditions in persons 65 years and older.
OAMHS may, when clinically appropriate, see persons younger than 65 suffering from conditions usually associated with old age.
The provision of service is geared towards semi-urgent and elective referrals, from secondary and tertiary sources including:
- General practioners
- General hospitals and geriatric medicine units
- General psychiatry service
The OAMHP is not resourced for emergency/after-hours assessments or after-hours inpatient admissions.
To discuss whether a person would benefit from attending the service or whether they meet our inclusion criteria, please contact our Duty Officer between 8.30am and 4.30pm weekdays.
Service locality guide
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