Country Correspondent: Sonĵ Hall
In December 2018, the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care launched the User Guide for Health Services Providing Care for People with Mental Health Issues, part of the second edition of the National Safety and Quality Health Service Standards. The guide provides an overview of approaches to providing optimal health care for people with comorbid mental and physical health issues.
Around the same time, the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare published data from a patient satisfaction survey from two of Australia’s largest states, Queensland and New South Wales. This survey of more than 24,000 respondents found that in 2016–17, a larger share of patients receiving ambulatory mental health services reported their overall care experience as ”good,” “very good,” or ”excellent” (92% in QLD, 91% in NSW), compared to those receiving inpatient services (73% in QLD, 86% in NSW).
