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Ryde Medicare Mental Health Centre now open:

 

Medicare Mental Health Centres provide a welcoming place where everyone can access free and confidential mental health information, services and supports. The centres offer immediate support for people in distress, including their family and carers.

Qualified mental health professionals and people with lived experience of mental ill health work together to offer support, now and into the future. They can also connect people with other services to help them in the future. This can include health and mental health, and social supports like housing and employment.

Take the first steps towards finding mental health and wellbeing support that is best for you. The sooner you talk about your mental health, the sooner you’ll get the help and support you need, to help you move forward and feel stronger.

Medicare Mental Health Centres have been designed to provide mental health support to those in need in NSW. A trained mental health professional will take your call, give you advice, and if you need it connect you to the best support or service for you.

You can call 1800 595 212 Monday to Friday, 8.30am to 5pm (except public holidays) or go to Medicare Mental Health Centres | Medicare Mental Health.

This is not a crisis service. If you need immediate help or are at risk of harm to yourself or others, call 000 now.

Support for Yourself

Medicare Mental Health Centres have been designed to provide mental health support to those in NSW. If you’re not feeling OK, 1800 595 212 can help direct you to the appropriate support networks.

When you call 1800 595 212 a trained mental health professional will talk to you and help direct you to an appropriate service. This may be to an existing mental health service in your area or, if appropriate, to receive care at the Medicare Mental Health Centre in your area through appointments onsite or through telehealth.

In the Northern Sydney region, the Intake Assessment and Referral line (1800 595 212) and mental health hub (located in Ryde) are operated by PCCS.

Support for Others

You may have recognised a change in behaviour in someone around you, or you are aware of someone who has a clinically diagnosed mental health condition.

Medicare Mental Health Centres can help you, and the people you care about, find the right mental health services. You can arrange support for someone with their consent by calling 1800 595 212.

Anyone can contact Medicare Mental Health Centres. This includes referrals from GPs and other mental health providers, friends or family members.

Frequently Asked Questions

Medicare Mental Health Centres are for all people in NSW. It is for anyone of any age, including children, young people and older adults, whose mental health is suffering. This includes people experiencing addiction, families and carers. Even if you have never sought help before, Medicare Mental Health Centres are here for you.

In the first instance, we will talk with you about your personal concerns to identify the support you need. We will then work with you to develop a package of support services that respond to your individual situation. That might involve referring you to existing mental health and other services.

Medicare Mental Health Centres take a holistic approach to your mental health, whether you have experienced mental ill-health in the past or if this is the first time you have reached out for support.

We’re here to help you to understand the type of support you need. We draw on our knowledge of the broad range of services available to identify what best suits your individual needs. With your consent, we can also work with your GP to ensure they are kept informed about the support services recommended for you.

Sometimes finding the support you need can seem overwhelming. Rather than jumping straight into a service that might not suit you, it can be helpful to talk to someone who can guide you to the right service for you. Staff on our 1800 number are trained clinicians and are like tour guides for the mental health world – they know which care options are out there, so they can hold your hand and take you to the best solution.

Call us on 1800 595 212 Monday to Friday from 8.30am to 5pm, except public holidays. Please note that we are not a crisis service so we only operate during business hours.

For urgent support, call Lifeline 13 11 14 or SuicideLine 1300 651 251. If you need immediate help or are at risk of harm to yourself or others call 000 now.

Medicare Mental Health Centres comprise the central 1800 595 212 intake, advice and referral number as well as 10 mental health hubs (Head to Health Pop Up hubs) across NSW in established community health care settings.

The first step is to call 1800 595 212 where our team will work with you to see what you need. You can choose from telehealth or face-to-face appointments.

There is no cost for using the Medicare Mental Health Centre central 1800 595 212 intake, advice and referral service.

However, not everyone who contacts us will be suitable for treatment. If we believe you will benefit from support from another provider, where possible, we will ensure this is also a free or low-cost service.

With your consent, we can share all or parts of any advice and plans with your GP or other health care providers. If you prefer not to have them shared with your current health providers, that is fine as well. However, we will encourage you to discuss any additional advice or support you receive from us with your GP or other health providers because coordinating your care and reducing duplication is in your best interests.

Yes. However, we will ensure there is no duplication in your treatment and services you access. If you are already seeing a psychologist – or another relevant mental health professional – please advise us so we can identify the best types of services to meet your support needs.

No, anyone can call 1800 595 212, whether they already have a GP mental health treatment plan or not. If we believe you require a mental health treatment plan, we can discuss that with your GP with your consent.

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Jacqui Emery

Jacqui is a passionate advocate for equity in healthcare and an accomplished leader with over 20 years of experience across the not-for-profit, corporate, and media sectors.

Most recently, she served as CEO of Royal Far West, where she championed access to developmental, mental health, and allied health services for children in rural and remote communities. Her work has driven early intervention, education, and advocacy initiatives that have influenced policy and funding outcomes nationwide.

Jacqui’s deep commitment to creating opportunities for those who need them most aligns perfectly with SNHN’s vision:continuing to work collaboratively to help our community live their best health.

Ramon del Carmen

Ramon is a senior organisational leader with extensive experience in highly competitive and heavily regulated environments including banking and telecommunications as well as the not-for-profit health sector with over 12 years of CEO experience and 9 years of CFO experience. He combines innovation and strategic thinking with strong leadership to deliver results in challenging environments that are undergoing significant and time-critical change.

Ramon is currently a non-executive director and Treasurer of Bobby Goldsmith Foundation and held previous non-executive director positions with Your Side Australia and Primary and Community Care Services (PCCS).

Ramon has a Bachelor of Economics from The University of Sydney, an MBA and MA (Business Research) from Macquarie Graduate School of Management. He is a Fellow of Chartered Accountant Australia and New Zealand, and a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Eugene McGarrell

Eugene has more than 45 years of experience in the health, social and wellbeing sectors across the UK and Australia, with roles in clinical, community development, management, and executive leadership. As CEO of Healthy Australia, he led initiatives like Safe, feedAustralia, and Thriving Together, which promoted children’s health and learning. He introduced innovative approaches in workers’ compensation, such as social prescribing, to prevent injuries and aid recovery.

A systems thinker, Eugene advocates for challenging convention and disrupting the status quo to address complex social problems. His career began as a mental health nurse, and he has worked across government and social services to tackle issues facing vulnerable communities. Notably, in 1998, he co-led a project in Kingston that reduced suicide rates by 40%.

Eugene co-designed The Collective NSW in 2013, bringing together community, government, and business to break the cycle of disadvantage, leading to successful initiatives like the Greenway Wellbeing Centre and SILC. He is dedicated to empowering communities to design their own solutions and improve health, social, and economic outcomes.

He holds a PG Dip in Care Policy and Management from London Guildhall University and is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Sara Warburton

Sara is a skilled strategic leader with a wealth of experience in customer-centric leadership roles within the health and care sector. Her extensive career spans senior positions in business development, strategy, marketing communications, service innovation, and operational excellence across both the UK and Australia.

Sara has demonstrated her expertise in both for-profit and non-profit sectors, as well as within government contracts, where she has successfully driven organisational transformation programs and enhanced access and experience for patients and communities. Her dedication to excellence is further demonstrated by her volunteer roles, including serving as a Strategic Advisor to Frontline Yoga and most recently as Chief-of-Staff for a mental health startup.

Sara holds a Bachelor’s degree (Hons) in Business Management from Oxford Brookes University and has completed the MBA Essentials Course at the London School of Economics and Political Science. Additionally, she participated in the development of the McKinsey Not-For-Profit Executive Leadership Program and has informally studied behavioural economics and technology in healthcare.

Deb Pallavicini

Deborah’s general management responsibilities include teams working with and supporting primary healthcare providers across our region, including General Practitioners and Allied Health Professionals. Her strategic approach to role responsibilities provides solid direction for those teams engaged in quality improvement, chronic disease management, digital health, emergency response, improved service integration, corporate communications, and marketing. Deborah is also responsible for directing the Clinical Engagement team, ensuring our professional members’ capabilities are continually enhanced for delivering the right care to our local community at the right time and place.

With over 12 years of experience working as a Practice Manager in medium to large General Practices, Deborah has also worked with the Improvement Foundation (IF), taking part in the Australian Primary Care Collaboratives on two occasions. The experience she gained over this period has translated into a strong and practical understanding of the Primary Care environment and the importance of Quality Improvement for enhancing patient outcomes.

Deborah’s experience at SNHN is inclusive of involvement in the development and rollout of quality improvement programs inclusive of dementia management in general practice and broader chronic disease management programs; the COVID-19 response across the region’s primary care providers inclusive of RACFs, coupled with the later rollout of COVID-19 vaccinations.

Deborah holds a Master’s in Health Management focusing on Quality and Safety in Healthcare and a Graduate Certificate in Health Science.