Mental Health Excellence Awards 2017

The Mental Health Awards celebrate outstanding contribution to mental health services or promotion of positive mental health in South Australia.

The Mental Health Awards:

  • publicly recognise and celebrate the achievements of people and organisations who have made an outstanding contribution to mental health services in South Australia
  • inspire others to achieve excellence in providing mental health services, and
  • encourage others in promoting positive mental health.

Congratulations to the winners and finalists of the 2017 Mental Health Excellence Awards, announced on Monday, 9 October 2017 at the Adelaide Pavilion:

Category 1 – Dr Margaret Tobin Award

This award recognises exceptional leadership and commitment to mental health and wellbeing.

Winner

Prof Nicholas Procter - Chair of Mental Health Nursing, Mental Health and Substance Use Research Group, School of Nursing and Midwifery, University of South Australia

Nicholas has provided leadership in mental health and suicide prevention reform in South Australia for over 20 years. Nicholas is a passionate advocate for improved mental health nursing care.Nicholas has developed a community of practice bringing together mental health consumers, clinicians, policy makers and academic faculty. Nicholas has supervised post-grad students across many disciplines on Mental and Suicide Prevention practice. These initiatives have led to a significant positive impact on hundreds of clinicians across South Australia.

Finalists

Dr Prue McEvoy - Clinical Director, Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service, Women’s and Children’s Health Network

Dr McEvoy provides exemplary leadership and advocacy in the area of child and adolescent mental health.Amongst other strengths is her passion and leadership in the area of improving services for the most vulnerable children in our state and in particular those under the Guardianship of the Minister.

Mr Lucas Milne - IPS Program Coordinator, Country Health SA Local Health Network

Lucas Milne, Individual Placement & Support (IPS) Coordinator, has been the driving force behind CHSALHN Mental Health Directorate's vision of implementing an employment support program for mental health consumers in South Australian rural communities. The IPS program ensures mental health consumers are supported to gain employment, with the joint assistance of a Mental Health Clinician and an Employment Practitioner. The clinician and the practitioner support both the employee and employer to assist the consumer to achieve their employment goals.

Category 2 – Mental Health Excellence and Innovation Award

This award recognises excellence and innovation in mental health service provision in South Australia

Winner

Journey to Respect — Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service, Women’s and Children’s Health Network

With the support of the Forensic CAMHS team, Michael Hare has revived the Journey To Respect Program within both the Adelaide Youth Training Centre and within the Aboriginal community delivering a culturally appropriate therapeutic service linked to criminogenic needs to Aboriginal young people in custody.

Finalists

Individual Placement and Support Pilot Program - Country Health SA Local Health Network and Community Bridging Services (CBS) Inc

Individual Placement & Support (IPS) is an evidence based model that supports people with serious mental health conditions to seek, gain and maintain open, competitive employment. CHSALHN has partnered with Disability Employment Service provider, Community Bridging Services (CBS Inc.) to deliver a pilot IPS program, integrating mental health care with employment support within three community mental health services.

The Adelaide Pre-vocational Psychiatry Program

TAPPP commenced in 2012 and is the only 12 month pre-vocational training program in Australia. The program was started as an initiative to increase numbers of junior medical officers in SA who were exposed to Psychiatry and consequently increase the quality of care provided to consumers of Mental Health services

Statewide Gambling Therapy Service - Southern Adelaide Local Health Network

Anglicare SA's Mental Health Respite (MHR) collaborated with carers to become a leader in the provision of support for carers of adults living with high and complex mental health issues. MHR provides tailored psychosocial supports to both carers and consumers, including; crisis support, advocacy, referral, short term individual support, long term consumer community engagement groups, large carer events, short educational, wellbeing, life skill development courses and respite options.

Category 3 - Lived Experience Participation Award

This award recognises those that have demonstrated excellence in lived experience participation and /or facilitation to support the improvement of mental health and wellbeing in South Australia.

Winner - Mr Shane O’Neil

Shane has been co-facilitating educational sessions to clinicians in the Mental Health Care Plan training offered by the South Australian Mental Health Training Centre throughout 2016 and 2017. Shane’s lived experience and knowledge of care plan auditing; previously has provided invaluable with providing clinicians with a consumers’ perspective to care planning. Shane’s ongoing dedication and active involvement to improve the mental health and wellbeing of consumers in South Australia is commendable

Finalists

Mr Cecil Camilleri

Cecil Camilleri (B.Sc. (Hons), M.Sc., B.Litt. (Hons), Pg.Cert Coaching, Dip.Couns., PhD (Environmental Studies), DTech., PhD (Communication)) was born and raised in Malta and is a sustainable wellbeing and resilience specialist. Cecil, who has the lifetime experience of living with and recovering from BPAD, identifies mental health and disability advocacy as his vocation and calling. He has an ongoing active association with Lifeline (Uniting Communities), Centacare, SAHMRI, the Centre for Wellbeing and Resilience, the Health Consumers Alliance of South Australia, Mental Illness Fellowship of South Australia, the Community Visitor Scheme and the South Australian Office of the Chief Psychiatrist.Cecil is a statutory officer with the CVS, a crisis support worker, a community educator, coach and mentor.

Ms Taegan Soper - Peer Specialist, Cedars Acute, Central Adelaide Local Health Network

Taegan works part time and has developed a set of simple forms that allows staff to specifically refer patients to her when she is not on duty, to ensure that all patients have access to the service that the lived experience staff provide

Category 4 – Partnering with Lived Experience

This award recognises excellence in creating partnerships with people with lived experience in the improvement of services, programs and organisations in South Australia.

Winner - Mental Health and Substance Use Research Group, University of South Australia

The Mental Health and Substance Use Research Group (MHSURG) has long standing partnerships with people with lived experience (LE) of mental illness and mental health care. The Group promotes the benefits of partnering with consumers and carers to other sector partners, research collaborators, nursing students and the wider health community.

Finalist

Veterans Mental Health Service and Older Persons Mental Health Service - Southern Adelaide Local Health Network

As part of Transforming Health, Veterans Mental Health Service and the OPMHS ward18 will be moving from the RGH into bespoke clinical settings. The leadership team facilitated a process that promoted meaningful consumer engagement throughout, to the extent that feedback was provided and utilised for the design concepts, model of care and service arraignments.

Category 5 – Mental Health Promotion Award

This award recognises excellence in the promotion of mental health and wellbeing of South Australia. This award is open to individuals, group and project nominations.

Winner - Ms Kyra Sykes

Kyra Sykes has given Mount Gambier and Penola residents a unique insight to mental health issues by showcasing her own challenges through art. Her two exhibitions Scribblings of a Madman and Reflection of a Madman featured works created during Kyra's spurts of panic, reflecting her daily hardships battling anxiety and depression.

Finalist

Carer Events and Wellbeing Group, Anglicare SA

Through the Carer Events and Wellbeing Group, Anglicare SA’s Mental Health Respite (MHR) program offers carers the unique opportunity to engage in fun, innovative and inclusive activities tailored to reduce social isolation, increase carers confidence and provide an avenue to re-engage in the community. The events provide carers with opportunities to build friendships, share knowledge and coping strategies, share with others individual talents and be an important part of a community that each carer feels safe to explore the ups and downs of the often silent caring role.

More information

Mental Health Awards
Nomination Officer: Michele Burman
Telephone: (08) 8226 1091
Address: PO Box 287, Rundle Mall SA 5000
Email: HealthMentalHealthFeedback@sa.gov.au