In  2018 MHFFTas partnered with Baptcare for a project officer to work with Baptcare staff towards carer inclusiveness and to evaluate Baptcare’s current carer practices against ‘A Practical Guide for Working with Carers of People with a Mental Illness’ (The Guide).

The Guide allows services to explore, measure and improve how they perform against 6 Partnership Standards:

1. Carers and the essential role they play are identified at first contact, or as soon as possible thereafter
2. Staff are carer aware and trained in carer engagement strategies
3. Policy and practice protocols regarding confidentiality and sharing of information are in place
4. Defined staff positions are allocated for carers in all service settings
5. A carer introduction to the service and staff is available, with a relevant range of information across the care settings
6. A range of carer support services is available.

Read the Report and the Appendices.

The Project included:

• an evaluation of Baptcare’s current practices against the 6 standards
• staff completed self-assessments at the beginning of the Project to enable the identification of strengths, as well as gaps and areas for improvement
• a focus on raising organisational awareness of the Guide’s standards via staff training
• the provision of  relevant training resources and supporting documentation for ongoing staff training using a “train the trainer” approach
• the development of an action plan and changes were made to Baptcare’s practices, with additional actions identified for the future

The Project fits within current Tasmanian Government policy as outlined in its Rethink Mental Health Plan (2015-2025).

It also built upon an earlier MHFFTas Project partnership with Headspace.