GP Psychiatry Support Line available in ACT

Canberra GPs can now access free and convenient telephone support from psychiatrists Monday to Friday from 7am to 7pm.

ProCare has been providing its telephonebased psychiatry support to GPs in selected primary healthcare networks (PHNs) for the past five years. However, the service was not available in Canberra until July 1, when the Federal Government took over funding to establish the national GP Psychiatry Support Line. GPs can call the service for support ranging from medication advice, to diagnosis help or advice when assessing risk in relation to a patient case.

90% connection rate

One of ProCare’s priorities is to have an immediate connection rate, explained CEO Alex Sovechles. “A minimum of 90% of calls get straight though to a psychiatrist,” he said. “For the service to be relied upon, it’s important that when GPs reach out, they are serviced efficiently.”

The psychiatrists on the hotline are not seeing their own patients at the same time, Sovechles said, meaning GPs “don’t need to feel like they’re butting into someone else’s professional life when they make a call”.

“Our aim is to support GPs so they can do more in the moment and hopefully over time it will ease the burden on the mental health system as whole,” he said.

Strong demand

The number of calls taken by the service has doubled since July 1, when the pool of potential callers doubled from around 14,000 to around 28,000 GPs.

Dr Tanya Robertson, an AMA ACT board member and GP said she had previously found psychiatry support hotlines useful when working in NSW.

“It can be extremely useful for GPs to get timely support and advice, especially for medication choices and adjustments,” she said. “In my opinion, I have avoided ED presentations and the need for tertiary referrals by speaking to a psychiatry colleague in a timely way and agreeing on a plan of action.”

Data collected

ProCare collects de-identified data on the nature of the calls and their geographical source, which it will share on a monthly basis with the Commonwealth Government and PHNs.

“The idea is to create a geographical map of issues GPs are facing so the PHNs can target initiatives around those issues and show where there are gaps in knowledge,” Sovechles said.

How to use it

Sovechles stressed that the hotline is not a triage, referral or emergency service, and that at no time does the psychiatrist speak with the patient, though patients may be in the room during the enquiry.

GPs can access the GP Psychiatry Support Line by calling 1800 16 17 18. When they first contact the service they will be registered. GPs can also preregister online at gpsupport.org.au.

GPs can also make bookings online or over the phone and the team will call back at a selected time. After the enquiry, the GP will be sent a digital report by the psychiatrist within one business day.

GPs can access the GP Psychiatry Support Line by calling 1800 16 17 18