Victorian Government Department of Human Services Country Resources Mental Health Strategies and Plans Victoria Policy document

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1.1 Introduction
The rural mental health planning framework (‘the planning framework’) defines the Government’s directions and associated priority areas for the improved provision of public mental health services to people with a serious mental illness living in regional and rural communities.

The rural public mental health system provides access to area based and statewide specialist services primarily targeted to the estimated three per cent of Victorians who experience serious mental illness. As such it forms part of an overall system of care to people with a mental illness. In line with this targeted role, public mental health services also support the broader health and welfare system in responding to the needs of this population group.

The need for a strategic action plan to improve the provision of public rural mental health services was identified in New Directions for Victoria’s Mental Health Services: The Next Five Years, released in September 2002. The rural planning framework is also closely linked to existing mental health strategies building on the strengths of the current system.

The planning framework acknowledges that service development and planning for the rural mental health service system must take into account the range of structural, systemic and environmental issues that are specific to rural communities.

Building on the actions and priorities foreshadowed in New Directions, this Plan seeks to improve access to high quality, efficient and sustainable mental health services in rural and regional Victoria - particularly for people living in locations with limited access to public services due to geographical distance and other factors.

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