The NEAMI Way Achieving quality outcomes with people who have a chronic mental illness and service growth in today’s economic climate

The NEAMI Way Preface:  I have been working at NEAMI in NSW for the past twelve months  Not everything I have to say applies to all NEAMI services

The NEAMI Way Some history  NEAMI began in Melbourne almost twenty years ago as a small service for people with a chronic mental illness  NEAMI set out to enable people with a chronic mental illness to move from large institutions to living in the community

The NEAMI Way Some history cont’d  In the past three years NEAMI has grown rapidly to deliver services in both South Australia and New South Wales  New South Wales and South Australia services continue to grow

The NEAMI Way What makes NEAMI different? Small caseloads and small outlet size  Staff on average have four consumers to support – Two high support Two low support  Service outlets generally have no more than eight staff – 7 staff 1 manager

The NEAMI Way What makes NEAMI different? Consistent staff supervision  Supervision occurs every fortnight with every staff member, including Managers Supervision last about 90 minutes Every consumer is reviewed and an action plan for both the staff member and the manager is developed Supervision also includes visits to consumers with the staff member

The NEAMI Way What makes NEAMI different? Reflective Practice  Undertaken by the whole team every week  Enables “double loop” instead of “single loop” learning  Reflective practice is about “walking the talk” and challenging each other when we don’t

The NEAMI Way What makes NEAMI different? Continuous improvement  NEAMI recognises that everything can be done better  Every policy and practice can be reviewed  Accreditation through QICSA (Quality Improvement & Community Services Accreditation)

The NEAMI Way What makes NEAMI different? Active consumer participation at all levels  Chairman of the Board is a consumer  Consumer advisory group  Monthly consumer meetings

The NEAMI Way What makes NEAMI different? Excellent infrastructure – the tools needed to do the job  The equipment is modern and matched to the job  Service supports are also good with HR, Administration, Training and Management support  Service sites are centrally located to the area they service

The NEAMI Way What makes NEAMI different? Neither reckless or risk averse  Risk assessments are not used to exclude consumers  NEAMI recognises that everyone is entitled to make mistakes  Some people may not succeed in the community

The NEAMI Way What makes NEAMI different? Seven day a week on–call service  The service operates seven days a week between the hours of 9am and 8pm Monday to Friday and 9am to 5:30pm weekends  Consumers are able to call the on call service if required  Staff are able to call an on-call Manager if required

The NEAMI Way What makes NEAMI different? Equality of staff, management and consumers  Managers and staff have the same conditions of employment – even the same model mobile phones and cars  Consumers have the same rights as staff – there are no consumer toilets at NEAMI  All people are treated as equals

The NEAMI Way What makes NEAMI different? Strong commitment to staff training  NEAMI has developed an induction package for staff in conjunction with North Melbourne Institute of TAFE  NEAMI has also developed a training package for managers  A successful baker here in Victoria was asked – “What happens if you train people and they leave?” He replied “what happens if I don’t train them and they stay?”

The NEAMI Way What makes NEAMI different? Evidence based practice  If something has been shown to work it is used  If something has been shown not to work we don’t use it  NEAMI is actively involved in research partnerships with educational institutions and has employed someone to work on the evidence

The NEAMI Way What makes NEAMI different? Close collaboration with other services  The NEAMI services in NSW are one of the three partners in the Housing and Accommodation Support Initiative  The three partners work very closely together to quickly address and resolve problems  NEAMI assists people to live in their community which means building links with local community services and populations

The NEAMI Way What makes NEAMI different? Staff time is spent on consumer directed activity  Staff aim to spend 80% of their time on consumer activity  Locally located services mean less time travelling  Fewer forms means more time with consumers

The NEAMI Way What makes NEAMI different? Case management, direct service & brokerage together  NSW services are set up to provide the “hands on” training and the case management to consumers  There is also money available for brokerage  Other services can be obtained from the other partners, particularly mental health who have psychologists and O/T’s

The NEAMI Way What makes NEAMI different? Paperless referrals  Making a referral involves one phone call  A meeting with the person referred follows  Key entry requirements are “willingness” and “capacity”

The NEAMI Way What makes NEAMI different? Higher pay rates and salary sacrifice for all staff  NEAMI pays staff at a higher rate than other services  Above Award conditions are also provided to all staff  Salary sacrifice is available to all staff not just “management”

The NEAMI Way What makes NEAMI different? Flexibility in service delivery  Service is provided according to need – not according to policy  NEAMI is open to new ideas and to the challenging of old ones  Continuous Improvement and Reflective Practice means that everything is open to critical review and change

The NEAMI Way What makes NEAMI different? Consumer focused practise  Consumers come first  Consumers right to live in the community comes first  Consumers right to have “what you and I have” comes first

The NEAMI Way In conclusion  The NEAMI Way is not new It has been written about by many people;  Charles Rapp “The Strengths Model”  David Moxley “Case Management by Design”  Ivan and Roy Brown “Quality of Life and Disability”  Patricia Deegan “ NEAMI, to paraphrase Sir Isaac Newton, “is merely standing on the shoulders of (the) giants” of evidence based practise