Page 80 - Retail Pharmacy Magazine October 2020

78 MENTAL HEALTH FROM PAGE 77 about 18 months ago, $82 million was invested in a trial of Primary Health Networks commissioning services for mental healthcare in residential facilities. “Even though it’s still in its infancy, there’s increased traction in the form of more practitioners such as psychologists, social workers, and mental health nurses making themselves known to aged care facilities,” he said. “So, I think we’re going to see some development there. “Government really needs to get behind the idea that older people require really good mental healthcare, which isn’t simply resolved with funding.” He adds that creativity is required in terms of how healthcare professionals are trained to be more mindful and competent in providing mental health services to older adults. “In many cases, there’s no difference between how a healthcare professional works with an older patient compared with a younger one,” he said. “But as soon as the older person develops a cognitive impairment, or as soon as they develop a physical impairment, they become frail and need assistance with many things, including technology.” This means, he says, that the first thing to focus on, apart from funding, is the “insight and competency” required to navigate through these issues. The second is the requirement for a public campaign that supports older people connecting to counselling and psychological services. “Government’s been very good at underlining that it’s OK for people who are going through suicide ideation, or younger people experiencing domestic violence, to reach out,” he said. “I think the same message needs to be put through to the older community, as well as the healthcare professional services.” PHARMACIST INPUT ON THE GROUND According to Mark Webster, owner of Stay Well Pharmacy in Christchurch, New Zealand, people are “really” struggling mentally through the pandemic “in various degrees”. “Pharmacists are ideally aligned at the frontline to help people with mental health challenges or spikes,” he said. “I think sometimes it just comes down to asking a patient ‘how are you feeling today?’ and ‘how have you been getting through this rough time?’ “It’s not just about asking ‘how are you generally?’ because we’re preprogrammed to respond with ‘I’m fine’. “Crises affect people’s immune systems and hypothalamic-pituitary- adrenal axis, which centres around the fight-or-flight response, so there’s a lot to it, but just asking the right questions can be massively therapeutic in combination with recommended supportive nutrition.” Mr Webster anticipates that in the coming months a “massive level” of undiagnosed post-traumatic stress disorder will be evident. “It’s not just about those people who’ve lost their jobs or lost their companies,” he said, “but also the people who’ve had to stay housebound for weeks, and people like myself that still have to work under massively different conditions. It’s all taking its toll. “And while pharmacy teams are ideally suitable to be in the frontline, they might not always be equipped in terms of the next step of referring people correctly. “I’m concerned that if people are referred to GPs then treatment could be an antidepressant or the like, which I don’t believe is the answer for many of these conditions.” Meanwhile, to support Victoria as it contends with further Covid-19 restrictions, the federal government announced an additional $31.9 million in funding for 15 mental health clinics across the state, and to further expand available mental health support services. The funding will establish the dedicated mental health clinics at existing health centres in the community, providing access to on- site support and referrals through a multidisciplinary team of mental health workers including psychologists, mental health nurses, social workers, and alcohol and drug workers. Six of these clinics will be in regional areas. RETAIL PHARMACY • OCT 2020