MENTAL HEALTH NEWS
Ramsay Health Care is helping mental health professionals to take their skills to rural Australia, by supporting an organisation called ‘Psychs on Bikes’.
The group is made up of mental health medical staff who
motorbike around Australia, providing free assistance to men
in the bush. So far, they have been able to help 1,000 men in
rural areas.
Psychs on Bikes has notched up its 40,000th kilometre after
riding from Ramsay’s facility, The Adelaide Clinic, to Darwin
in August.
Psychiatrist Dr Joseph Dunn said: “We try to achieve some
great outcomes in the community while having a really good
time along the way.”
The group started eight years ago when Dr Dunn, his
son and two other colleagues decided to ride across the
Nullarbor Plain. They soon garnered additional support from
the Australian College of Mental Health Nurses.
12 The Ramsay Way 2019 | 03
Now the group takes on two major rides each year and a few
smaller rides in between, providing free health checks for
men at each stop.
“When you get out to the bush, suicide rates nearly double
than those in the city. So naturally we wanted to help men in
the bush. We want to break down the barriers around mental
health,” Dr Dunn said.
Psychs on Bikes now has 250 members and is made up
of psychiatrists, psychologists and mental health nurses.
Normally, 15 riders and a support car will head off on each
of the trips.
“Once people know about us and start to get involved with
the idea and realise our purpose, they are really rusted on,”
Dr Dunn said.
“It is very rewarding. We are actually getting more and more
requests for us to visit communities. While we are in each
of the towns, we try to make an effort to engage with local
health professionals.”
The organisation is growing in influence and has recently
welcomed former politician, Brendan Nelson AO, as
its patron.
Ramsay Health Care has been a supporter of Psychs on
Bikes since the organisation was established in 2011.
New alcohol and prescription drug program in Brisbane
Patients can now be referred by their GPs to a new alcohol and prescription drug program in Brisbane.
New Farm Clinic has recently introduced a two-week inpatient
program run by an experienced multidisciplinary team.
The program is designed to assist patients to stop
substance misuse including teaching:
• Strategies to strengthen motivation to change
• Relapse prevention strategies to cope with cravings and triggers
• Thinking skills and managing stress
• Psychoeducation about substance use
• Managing depression and anxiety
To support patients with the transition home after their
inpatient stay, New Farm Clinic also offers an Alcohol and
Prescription Drug Day Program specifically designed to
prevent relapse.
The Day Program is abstinence based and focuses on two
stages of recovery.
Stage one addresses coming to terms with living drug and
alcohol free and includes relapse prevention techniques.
Stage two focuses on the underlying issues relevant to
the development of emotional wellbeing and ongoing
abstinence.
Psychiatrist David Storor designed and runs New Farm
Clinic’s Alcohol and Prescription Drug Program. Dr Storor
has over 30 years’ experience in alcohol and drug services
and is a Senior Lecturer in Mental Health at the University
of Queensland.
PSYCHS ON BIKES
TAKE MENTAL
HEALTH CARE
TO THE BUSH