The beginning of a structural reform:Reorganising the front line of a mental health service

Abstract

National and State priorities for mental health services have directed emphasis towards earlyintervention and prevention. One of the key priorities is to ensure that entry to mental healthservices is efficient, effective and accountable. This study describes the process of restructuringthe front line of a large and complex mental health service. Adopting the total qualitymanagement approach, all stakeholders in the service collaboratively developed a single setof protocols and guidelines to achieve standardisation of documentation, assessment of risksand urgency, and to improve the overall quality of the service.