Administration and Policy in Mental Health

Last update: 6 December 2012,
by Maureen Bell

For inofrmation on mental health statistics click here.

Links are divided into South Australian, Australian and overseas lists, with a separate section on clinical governance and economic issues.

Lists of books and journal articles relating to mental health administration can be found on my bibliographies and reading lists page.

Library members have online access to a wide range of journals in this area. You'll find them in the e-Journals A-Z list at the top right of this page.

Administration and Policy in Mental Health
Administrative Science Quarterly
Behavioral Health Management
Community Mental Health Journal
International Journal of Health Planning and Management
Journal of Healthcare Management
Journal of Nursing Administration
Nursing Administration Quarterly
Quality Management in Health Care
Social Policy and Administration

South Australian Links

Glenside Campus redevelopment :: SA Health
Includes details of the design and master plan.

SA Health Publications - Mental Health Services
Includes publications from the Department of Health and Country Health SA..

Stepping Up: A Social Inclusion Action Plan for Mental Health Reform 2007-2012
South Australian Inclusion Board, February 2007.

Australian Links

Because Mental Health Matters: Victorian Mental Health Reform Strategy 2009 - 2019

Budget: National Mental Health Reform 2011-12
National Mental Health Reform - Ministerial Statement. Canberra, Department of Health and Ageing.

COAG National Action Plan on Mental Health (2006-2011)
Information about measures being progressed by the Department of Health and Ageing as part of the Council of Australian Governments' (COAG) National Action Plan.

Collaboration between Public and Private Sector Psychiatry
Produced by the Aged, Community and Mental Health Services Division, Department of Human Services of Victoria.

Consultation Paper on the National Mental Health Plan 2003 - 2008
Prepared by the National Mental Health Plan Steering Committee, March 2003.

Developing a Casemix Classification for Mental Health Services. Summary.
Summary of the final report of the Mental Health Classification and Service Costs Project 1998. Report of a Project funded by the Department of Health & Family Services under the National Mental Health Strategy and the Casemix Development Program. The full report has now been removed from the web site, but copies can be requested by email.

e-Mental Health in Australia: Implications of the Internet and Related Technologies for Policy
By Helen Christensen, Kathleen M. Griffiths, and Kimberley Evans. Canberra : Commonwealth Dept. of Health and Ageing, 2002.

E-mental health strategy for Australia
Canberra : Commonwealth Dept. of Health and Ageing, June 2012.

Evaluation of the National Mental Health Strategy: Final Report
National Mental Health Strategy Evaluation Steering Committee, for the Australian Health Ministers Advisory Council, Evaluation of the National Mental Health Strategy: Final Report, Mental Health Branch, Commonwealth Department of Health and Family Services, December 1997

Evaluation of the National Mental Health Strategy: Research Components
This document presents the reports of several research studies which informed the preparation of advice to the Australian Health Ministers' Advisory Council (AHMAC) on achievements and progress under the National Mental Health Strategy, December 1997.

Evaluation of the Second National Mental Health Plan
Prepared for the Australian Health Ministers' Advisory Council by the Steering Committee for the Evaluation of the Second National Mental Health Plan 1998-2003, March 2003. Canberra, Health Services Division Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing, 2003.

Health | Mental health | Australian Policy Online
This is the mental health section of Policy Online, a research database and alert service providing updates and access to reports, working papers, discussion papers and statistics essential for effective public policy development. Policy Online is an initiative of the Swinburne Institute for Social Research.
To subscribe to their email newsletter click here.

Illawarra Mental Health Integration Project. Final Evaluation Report
By Natasha Posner and David Abelló, Social Policy Research Centre, University of New South Wales. Canberra, Department of Health and Ageing, September 2003.

Improving Mental Health Literacy: A Review of the Literature
By Catherine Francis, Jane Pirkis, David Dunt, R. Warwick Blood, and Cathy Davis. Centre for health Program Evaluation, June 2002.

Innovative Grants Program: Project Summaries (National Mental Health Strategy)
Prepared by the Australian Health Ministers Advisory Council's National Mental Health Working Group, January 1999. A summary report of activities from projects funded by the National Mental Health Strategy Innovative Grants Program.

Inquiry into Mental Health Services in New South Wales
The full text of reports, hearings, and transcripts can be found here.

International Mid-Term Review of the Second National Mental Health Plan for Australia - November 2001
A review undertaken by Virginia Trotter Betts and Graham Thornicroft. Canberra, Mental Health and Special Programs Branch, Department of Health and Ageing, 2002.

Joint Guarantee of Service for People with Mental Health Problems and Disorders: Living in Aboriginal, Community, and Public Housing
New South Wales Department of Health, 2003.This publication looks at the NSW Department of Housing and NSW Health Department joint guarantee of service for people with mental health problems.

Learning Together: Education and Training Partnerships in Mental Health
Prepared by Deakin Human Services Australia with funding from the Commonwealth Department of Health and Aged Care under the National Mental Health Strategy, February 1999.

Local Area Information Systems for Mental Health Services: General Principles and Guidelines
Morris-Yates, A. & Andrews, G. Local-Area Information Systems for Mental Health Services: General Principles and Guidelines. Developing Outcome-Orientated Information Systems for Mental Health Services, Discussion Paper No. 1. Canberra, Commonwealth Department of Health and Family Services; 1997.

Mental Health Information Development: National Information Priorities ..
Mental Health Information Development: National Information Priorities and Strategies Under the Second National Mental Health Plan 1998 - 2003. Prepared by the Mental Health Branch, Commonwealth Department of Health and Aged Care, 1999.

Mental Health Needs and Expenditure in Australia - June 2002
A report by Philip Burgess and others. Canberra, Mental Health and Special Programs Branch, Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing, 2002.

Mental Health Services in Australia
A series of comprehensive annual reports, produced by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, on the characteristics and activity of Australia's mental health services.

Mental Health Statement of Rights and Responsibilities
Mental Health Statement of Rights and Responsibilities. (First published 1991 Reprinted 1992 Reprinted 1995)

A National Approach to Mental Health - From Crisis to Community
Final report of the Senate Select Committee on Mental Health, April 2006.

National Health Priority Areas - Mental Health 1998
From the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare this document focuses on depression and builds on the data and trends provided in the First Report on the National Health Priority Areas 1996 . It provides overviews of mental health, summarises the current status of mental health activity in Australia and proposes a framework for future collaborative action between all stakeholders.

National Mental Health Information Priorities 2nd Edition
Outlines priorities to guide the development of national mental health information over the period of the National Mental Health Plan 2003-2008 and beyond. Department of Health and Ageing, June 2005.

National Mental Health Plan: April 1992

National Mental Health Plan 2003-2008

National Mental Health Plan 2009-2014
Fourth National Mental Health Plan: an agenda for collaborative government action in mental health 2009-2014

National Mental Health Policy
First published 1992. Last reprinted July 1995.

National Mental Health Policy 2008

"Out of Hospital, Out of Mind!' A Report Detailing Mental Health Services in Australia in 2002, and Community Priorities for National Mental Health Policy for 2003-2008
Report by the Mental Health Council of Australia, April 2003. Authors Grace Groom, Ian Hickie, and Tracey Davenport.

Outcomes and proposed next steps: review of the Access to Allied Psychological Services Component of the Better Outcomes in Mental Health Care Program
Canberra, Department of Health and Ageing, February 2010. This report summarises the success of the ATAPS program to date, presents the outcomes of the review process and identifies key directions to refine and further improve the initiative.

Planning Guidelines for National Demonstration Projects in Integrated Mental Health Care.
Prepared for the Mental Health Branch, Commonwealth Department of Health and Aged Care, by the Centre for Health Service Development, University of Woollongong 1999.

Public and Private Partnerships in Mental Health Project Final Evaluation Report
By Jane Pirkis, Jenni Livingstone, Belinda Morley, and Tom Trauer (January 2003)

Research Priorities in Mental Health
This report was commissioned by the Mental Health and Special Programs Branch, Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing, and prepared by Anthony Jorm, Kathleen Griffiths, Helen Christensen, and Jo Medway, Centre for Mental Health Research, Australian National University, November 2001.

Victoria's Mental Health Services. Publications A - Z
A complete list of their publications available online is here.

Overseas Links

Administrative Workload of Mental Health Workers
By Ines Garcia. London, Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health, July 2006. In 2002, the Audit Commission report Recruitment and Retention: A public service workforce for the 21st century revealed that “the sense of being overwhelmed by bureaucracy, paperwork and targets” was one of the main reasons for people leaving their posts in the public sector. This report is the result of research undertaken to provide a better understanding of the administrative workload for psychiatrists, nurses, health care assistants, psychologists, social workers, support workers, occupational therapists and occupational therapy assistants in three sites.

Adult Mental Health Services for Wales
Adult Mental Health Services for Wales: Equity, Empowerment, Effectiveness, Efficiency. Strategy Document, September 2001.

Atlas: Mental Health Resources in the World 2001
Produced by Mental Health Determinants and Populations, Department of Mental Health and Substance Dependence, World Health Organization, 2001.

Atlas: Country Profiles on Mental Health Resources 2001. Part 1 Introduction

Atlas: Country Profiles on Mental Health Resources 2001. Part IIa African Region, Region of the Americas, Eastern Mediterranean Region

Atlas: Country Profiles on Mental Health Resources 2001. Part IIb European Region, South_East Asia Region, Western Pacific Region

Charting the Future of Public Mental Health Care
This is a PowerPoint presentation delivered by Dr Lloyd Sederer (Medical Director, New York State Office of Mental Health) at the Mental Health Research Day, Z Ward, Glenside Campus, 27 March 2008. Additional information is available here

Choosing Mental Health: A Policy Agenda for Mental Health and Public Health
This report provides an overview of Choosing Health, the British Government’s public health White Paper, from a public mental health perspective. Produced by the Mental Health Foundation, March 2005.

Defining mental health services: promoting effective commissioning and supporting QIPP
London, NHS Confederation, 2012. This report seeks to address variations of understanding of the meaning of terms used to describe mental health services, by suggesting a range of definitions that can be used by commissioners and service providers, thus supporting the Quality, Innovation, Productivity and Prevention (QIPP) programme.

Developing Payment by Results for Mental Health
Resources from the Department of Health in the U.K.

Developments and Trends in Mental Health Policy
By Jennifer Rankin. London, Institute for Public Policy Research, 2004.
Mental Health in the Mainstream. Working Paper 1.

The Effectiveness of Involuntary Outpatient Treatment
The effectiveness of involuntary outpatient treatment: empirical evidence and the experience of eight states. By M. Susan Ridgely, Randy Borum, and John Petrila. Published by Rand, 2001.

Framework for Mental Health Services in Scotland
This Framework is written to assist staff in health, social work and housing agencies to develop a joint approach to the planning, commissioning and provision of integrated mental health services. It is also intended to assist the people who use these services, those who care for them and staff in voluntary and other agencies to play their part as partners and stakeholders.

Human Resources and Training in Mental Health
Mental Health Policy and Guidance Service Package. World Health Organization, 2005.

Investing in Mental Health
Geneva, World Health Organization, 2003. From the introduction - "A higher proportion of national budgets should be allocated to developing adequate infrastructure and services for mental health. At the same time, more human resources are needed to provide care for those with mental disorders and to protect and promote mental health."

Liaison Psychiatry in the Modern NHS - Centre for Mental Health
By Michael Parsonage, Matt Fossey and Carly Tutty. Centre for Mental Health, November 2012.

Mental Health: A Call for Action by World Health Ministers
Geneva, WHO, 2001.

Mental Health and the Productivity Challenge: Improving Quality and Value for Money
By Chris Naylor, and Andy Bell. London, Kings Fund, December 2010.

Mental Health Global Action Programme - mhGAP
Geneva, World Health Organization, 2002.

Mental Health Information Review
A review of Mental Health Information, led by the NHS Information Centre working with the Department of Health, was conducted during the summer of 2008. The collated responses, and the review recommendations are accessible from this site.

Mental Health Policy Implementation Guide
Produced by the UK Department of Health, March 2001.

Mental Health Policy Implementation Guide: A learning and development toolkit for the whole of the mental health workforce across both health and social care
The purpose of this toolkit is to set out the current learning and development issues for mental health; the priorities local health and social care organisations may wish to consider in developing their own learning and development strategies. London, Department of Health, April 2007.

Mental Health Policy Template
Produced by the International Consortium for Mental Health Policy and Services, the Mental Health Policy Template aims to provide the user with a basic tool or framework upon which to base the formulation of a mental health policy. It is intended to be generalizable across countries and regions and to include what is common to all countries. It is not prescriptive in terms of measures to be used or actions to be taken in relation to policy development or implementation, but identifies the essential domains and elements that need to be considered when formulating mental health policy.

Mental Health Service Systems - Public Health Agency of Canada
This site offers access to documents of interest to planners, policy makers and service providers in the field of mental health service delivery.

Mental Health Strategy : Department of Health (U.K.)
This page includes links to a number of documents produced as part of the No Health Without Mental health Cross-Government Mental Health Outcomes Strategy for People of All Ages.

Mental Health Workforce for the Future: A Planner's Guide
This doument was produced by the Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health in 2003. We have the print version in the Library, but there is a .pdf briefing paper, a workbook, workforce analysis templates, and a facilitator's guide available on this page.

Modernising Mental Health Services
Modernising mental health services: safe, sound and supportive. London, Department of Health, 1998.

National Mental Health Information Strategy - NZ Ministry of Health
National Mental Health Information Strategy 2005-2010. Wellington, Ministry of Health, June 2005.

National Service Framework for Mental Health: Modern Standards and Service Models
This National Service Framework, published in September 1999, focuses on the mental health needs of working age adults up to 65. The National Service Framework has been developed with the advice of an External Reference Group, chaired by Professor Graham Thornicroft from the Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London, and assisted by the Department of Health.

National Survey of Investment in Adult Mental Health Services
From the Department of Health in the U.K. Contains the 2011/2012 report, and links to all previous reports.

Nations for Mental Health. Final Report
The Nations for Mental Health project was designed to be an Initiative within the UN system for mental health in underserved populations. WHO initiated this programme following the publication, in May 1995, of a report on world mental health by a team at Harvard Medical School.

Needs Assessment for a Comprehensive, Local Mental Health Service: Mental Health Reference Group
This report was produced in March 2001, by the Mental Health Reference Group (now the Mental Health and Well Being Support Group) of the Scottish Executive.

No Health Without Mental Health: a cross-governmental mental health outcomes strategy for people of all ages
Department of Health, U.K., 2 February, 2011.

No Health Without Mental Health Implementation Framework
Produced by the Centre for Mental Health, Department of Health, Mind, NHS Confederation Mental Health Network, Rethink Mental Illness, and Turning Point, 24 July, 2012.

Outlining the Scope for Public Sector Involvement in Mental Health
By Girindre Beeharry, Harvey Whiteford, David Chambers, and Florence Baingana. HNP (Health Nutrition and Population) Discussion Paper, World Bank, August 2002.

Postpsychiatry: A New Direction for Mental Health
Bracken P, and Thomas P. Postpsychiatry: a new direction for mental health.
BMJ 2001, March 24(322): 724-727

Practical Guide to Preparing for Mental Health Payment by Results
A practical guide containing 10 actions to help local health economies prepare for mental health PbR. Department of Health, U.K., June 2009.

Provision of NHS Mental Health Services
The Fourth Report of the British House of Commons Select Committee on Health , July, 2000.

Public Mental Health: Guidelines for the Elaboration and Management of National Mental Health Programmes
Division of Mental Health and Prevention of Substance Abuse. Geneva, World Health Organization, 1996.

Review and Evaluation of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Block Grant Allocation Formula
A study to evaluate the equity of the formula used to allocate federal Block Grant funds to the states for the provision of substance abuse and mental health services (in the United States). Published by Rand, 1997.

Safety, Privacy and Dignity in Mental Health Units - Guidance on mixed sex accommodation for mental health services
A document produced by the UK Department of Health, June 1999.

Scottish Development Centre for Mental Health. Publications
The Scottish Development Centre for Mental Health is a not-for-profit Scottish-based organisation dedicated to the continuing development and improvement of mental health services in Scotland.

A Sign of the Times - Modernising Mental Health Services for People who are Deaf
This is a consultation document produced in 2002 by the Department of Health in the UK.

Vision for Change : Report of the Expert Group on Mental Health Policy
Dublin, Stationery Office, 2006.

WHO | The Essential Package for Mental Health Policy, Plan and Services
The essential package for mental health policy, plan and services consists of the WHO Mental health policy and service guidance package (14 modules), and The WHO mental health policy and plan checklists.

Advocacy for Mental Health

Child and Adolescent Mental Health Policies and Plans

Human Resources and Training in Mental Health

Improving Access and Use of Psychotropic Medicines

The Mental Health Context

Mental Health Financing

Mental Health Information Systems

Mental Health Legislation & Human Rights

Mental Health Policies and Programmes in the Workplace

Mental Health Policy, Plans and Programmes - (Updated version 2)

Monitoring and Evaluation of Mental Health Policies and Plans

Organization of Services for Mental Health

Planning and Budgeting to Deliver Services for Mental Health

Quality Improvement for Mental Health

Clinical Governance and Service Quality

Accountability and Performance Indicators for Mental Health Services and Supports: Resource Kit
This kit was prepared for the Federal/Provincial/Territorial Advisory Network on Mental Health [Canada] by Kimberly McEwan and Elliot M. Goldner, from the Mental Health Evaluation and Community Consultation Unit, University of British Columbia, January 2001.

Accreditation for Inpatient Mental Health Services (AIMS)
This site, from the Royal College of Psychiatrists, provides a number of standards relevant to inpatient care. They include:-

• Standards for Acute Inpatient Wards – Older People
• Standards for Inpatient Wards – Working-Age Adults
• Standards for Assessment/Triage Wards
• Standards for Psychiatric Intensive Care Units (PICUs)

Bandolier Clinical Governance
From Bandolier, the evidence-based online healthcare journal.

Best practice in managing risk: principles and guidance for best practice in the assessment and management of risk to self and others in mental health services
Document prepared for the National Mental Health Risk Management Programme, June 2007. This framework is a guide for mental health professionals working with service users to assess risk. It underpins risk assessment with principles of good practice for all mental health settings and provides a list of tools offering structure to risk management.

The Capable Practitioner: A framework and List of the Practitioner Capabilities Required to Implement the National Service Framework for Mental Health
A report by the Training and Practice Development Section of the Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health, April 2001.

Community Mental Health Evaluation Initiative
The Community Mental Health Evaluation Initiative (CMHEI) was conceived in 1997, and is the first multisite evaluation of community mental health programs in Canada. It was planned and is being conducted with the involvement of a range of participants, including government, community providers, family and consumers. It is designed to provide information relevant to policy. Of particular interest are the instruments and manuals used in the process.

Creating capable teams approach (CCTA)
Creating capable teams approach (CCTA) Best practice guidance to support the implementation of New Ways of Working (NWW) and New Roles. Guidance produce by the Department of Health in the UK., 8 May, 2007. The CCTA is a companion document to Mental health: New ways of working for everyone as a way of helping mental health teams to reflect on their current and future capabilities and skill mix and so help to deliver NWW in mental health.

Delivering Better Health Care 1: What goes wrong when implementing EB practice
Delivering Better Health Care2: Seeing the woods for the trees
Delivering Better Health Care 3: Learning to implement change in clinical practice
A series of papers by Michael Dunning, from Bandolier, the evidence-based online journal.

Evaluation: A Guide for Good Practice
Evaluation : a guide for good practice. Canberra : Promotion and Prevention Section, Mental Health and Special Programs Branch, Dept. of Health and Aged Care, 2001.

Home Treatment for Mental Health Problems: A Systematic Review
Burns T, Knapp M, Catty J, Healy A, Henderson J, Watt H, et al. Home treatment for mental health problems: a systematic review.
Health Technol Assess 2001, 5(15): 1-139

How effective are different types of day care services for people with severe mental disorders?
From the Health Evidence Network (HEN) of the World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe.

Improving the Quality of Health Care for Mental and Substance-Use Conditions: Quality Chasm Series
By the Committee on Crossing the Quality Chasm: Adaptation to Mental Health and Addictive Disorders, Board on Health Care Services, Institute of Medicine. Washington DC., National Academies Press, 2006.

Joint Commissioning Panel for Mental Health : Practical Guides
Published by the Royal College of Psychiatrists in February 2012, the guides focus on primary mental health care services, child and adolescent mental health service transitions, dementia services and acute liaison services, and have been produced by the Joint Commissioning Panel for Mental Health (JCP-MH). They describe what good quality, modern mental health services should look like, and bring together scientific evidence, patient and carer experience and viewpoints, and examples of best practice.

Key Performance Indicators for Australian Public Mental Health Services
Report of Performance Indicator Drafting Group, Information Strategy Committee, AHMAC National Mental Health Working Group, November 2004. (Information Strategy Committee Discussion Paper no. 5). Canberra, Department of Health and Ageing, 2005.

Measuring Consumer Outcomes in Mental Health - Field testing of selected measures of consumer outcome in mental health.
A report by Terry Stedman, Peter Yellowlees, Graham Mellsop, Robert Clarke, and Suzanne Drake. St. Lucia, Qld., University of Queensland, October 1997.

Measuring Quality in Australian Mental Health Services
A report by Jane Pirkis, Philip Burgess, David Dun and Lisa Henry, 1999.

Mental Health Improvement publications
The Scottish Development Centre for Mental Health (SDC) was commissioned by NHS Health Scotland to produce a set of four evaluation guides to support the evaluation of mental health improvement initiatives.

Mental Health Improvement Evaluation Guide 1: Evidence based practice

Mental Health Improvement Evaluation Guide 2: Measuring success

Mental Health Improvement Evaluation Guide 3: Getting results

Mental health improvement: Evidence and practice - Guide 4: Making an impact

Mental Health Improvement:evidence & practice - Guide 5 Selecting scales to assess mental wellbeing in adults