Based at the Kirwan Health Campus, located in Townsville, the Community Forensic Mental Health Team is a Northern Area tertiary mental health service, funded by Queensland Health through the Townsville Health Service District. The Community Forensic Mental Health Service is a multidisciplinary team which supports Northern Area district mental health services in the management of complex, high-risk patients and those under forensic provisions through advice, liaison, consultation and education.. It also provides direct clinical services to people with mental illness involved in the criminal justice system, such as people in correctional facilities and before the courts.
In practice, direct service delivery occurs in Townsville at the Townsville Correctional Centre, Watch House and Courts. All other services are delivered to districts via a consultation liaison model. Primary care remains the responsibility of each district mental health service. This team does not provide case management, but will provide assistance via the three tier level of support.
This service is guided by the philosophy that people with mental disorders and serious mental health problems, who have been or are involved with the criminal justice system, should have access to the standards and conditions of care and treatment equal to those provided in the wider community, in the least restrictive environment.
The safety of the community and the individual from unacceptable risks of harm to self/others or serious exacerbation of the illness is of primary concern, as is the safety of the staff working with these patients. The service targets existing patients of district mental health services whose needs can not be better met by that service alone and require expert forensic consultation/liaison. These patients have committed, or are alleged to have committed, or appear to be at significant risk of committing a criminal offence and/or have other complex clinical and forensic issues.
The service aims to provide timely and accessible advice, training and support to assist with the assessment, treatment and ongoing management of people with complex, high risk forensic issues. The Community Forensic Mental Health Service (Northern Area) provides five main components:
Consultant Psychiatrist
Team Leader
Social Worker
Psychologist
Clinical Nurse Consultant (Court Liaison Officer)
Clinical Nurse
Occupational Therapist
Advanced Indigenous Mental Health Worker
Tertiary Mental Health Services
Court
Watch house
Correctional Centres
Community Corrections
District Mental Health Services (
Rural and Remote Community Health Services.
Non-Government Support Agencies.
Referrals to the CFMHS can be made by contacting the service directly by letter or phone. General information or advice may be given at the time of contact by a member of the team. Specific referrals will be reviewed at the weekly team meeting and, feedback as to the outcome of the referral review will be given to the referring agency.
Forensic patients refers to persons in contact with the adult criminal justice systems who may come into contact with Mental Health Services.
Mental Illness is a condition characterised by a clinically significant disturbance of thought, mood, perception or memory. (Mental Health Act, 2000)
| Location | Adult Community Mental Health, Kirwan Health Campus, 138 Thuringowa Drive, Kirwan QLD 4817 |
| Postal Address | PO Box 1596 Thuringowa Central QLD 4817 |
| Phone | + 61 7 4799 9480 |
| Facsimile | + 61 7 4799 9501 |
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© The State of Queensland (Queensland Health) 2008.
