CONNECT WITH CARE ANYWHERE

Leaving hospital after a mental health crisis can bring a whole new set of challenges. Social Futures’ Care Connect provides support during the difficult weeks that follow.

After spending two months as an inpatient following a suicide attempt, John found returning home more difficult than he expected.

“I was pretty apprehensive coming out of hospital. It was more challenging than I could have imagined, being the first time I’d been hospitalised.

“It’s amazing how quickly you become institutionalised, I was so surprised. You know, two months in there after going through such a traumatic time, you become reliant on that routine and everything that’s in there. So, coming out took a few goes,” shared the Hunter Valley local, whose surname has been withheld for privacy.

Social Futures Team Leader, Care Connect, Aanaminda Makeig works with people like John after they leave hospital.

“A person can recognise they’ve had a bad mental health experience but if they’ve never had a counsellor before, they may not know how to get one. They might be wondering who they should tell, wondering if their family or workplace knows, and be trying to decide how open they will be about what has happened. After a couple of weeks on medication, they might be feeling different, wondering why they feel ‘weird’ and what they should do, who should they call.

“Then there is the whole reason someone might have gone into hospital in the first place – which was a sense of hopelessness about a range of presenting problems that they didn’t have the answers for before they went to hospital. Like, what am I going to do about my relationship breakdown? What am I going to do about my gambling and financial problem? What am I going to do about my housing and homelessness situation?

“There’s a lot that people don’t know what they’re going to do about once they leave hospital.”

Care Connect is a free aftercare service delivered by Social Futures and funded by the Hunter New England and Central Coast Primary Health Network. It supports people who are at risk of, or have previously attempted, suicide across the Central Coast, Newcastle, and the broader Hunter and Taree regions. Recognising that some people were missing out on support because of social or geographical isolation, Social Futures introduced a virtual option.

“We know that for people with mental health concerns, social anxiety can be a big factor, so offering a specific virtual service for people who are not feeling confident about returning to community is a really good idea. Also, it’s being able to provide service delivery to places that usually miss out, like rural or isolated areas,” said Aanaminda.

“If you can get a phone call from someone, and go ‘OK, I’m not sure what to do – what’s the story?’ and just start from scratch with somebody who knows what’s happened for you, knows the system, and knows what’s likely to be of assistance, it’s a really great starting place.

“We can just hear what’s going on for that person and start offering a few ways in right from the comfort of their couch, even if they’re still in their pyjamas.”

John accessed Care Connect virtually with Program Worker Rachael.

“Rachael became sort of my intermediary, that next step after the hospital. She was a fantastic support.

“Just having that support, having someone to talk to, someone extra that I knew I could call if I needed to. Anything that I brought up was on the table, Rachael was open to discuss it and research it for me, and she always got back to me.

“It meant that I didn’t have to go out if I didn’t want to. I was able to do it basically from anywhere, which was fantastic.

“It was an unexpected service and it was very welcome. It’s been a big help, especially in those early weeks of transitioning back to home.”

Aanaminda said the response to virtual support had surprised her.

“I was not expecting people to find it so appealing to talk on the phone only, and I was not expecting people to feel comfortable to transition to tele-health from talking.

“There’s been multiple times where we’ve started with people who have said that they are refusing to leave their house. They don’t want to leave their bedroom. They feel shame, they feel depressed, they feel hopeless and that there’s no point in trying to leave the house.

“Over a period of three months, I’ve seen that person turn into somebody who’s like ‘Yep, I’ve got my bus timetable, I’m going to the neighbourhood centre to get my lunch, then I’ve got a GP appointment and I’m going to do art and craft at the library afterwards.’

“That’s a pretty amazing transformation for somebody who wasn’t prepared to leave their bedroom three months earlier. That’s a result of having chats with people virtually, in their preferred environment, about what’s possible, what’s available.

“If you want to make a change in your life, and you’re not sure how to do that, give it a go, you can always decide that it’s not for you, but you’ll never know if you never give it a go.”