Tender (Now Closed): The Way Back NSW - Suicide Aftercare Service

This tender is now closed.

Wentworth Healthcare, provider of the Nepean Blue Mountains Primary Health Network (NBMPHN), is seeking submissions from suitable providers to deliver a new suicide aftercare service in the Nepean Blue Mountains region.

The service is co-funded by the Commonwealth and NSW Government under the Bilateral Agreement on Mental Health and Suicide Prevention and is based on The Way Back NSW model of care which offers trauma-informed, non-clinical psychosocial support to people after an attempt to end their life or following suicidal crisis.
 
The service will initially respond to the needs of the Penrith Local Government Area (LGA) with the view to expand to additional LGAs across the region in the future.
 
Wentworth Healthcare CEO, Lizz Reay, said the aftercare service provided to people in the weeks and months after an attempt to end their life, or following suicidal crisis, is important in reducing the risk of further suicidal behaviour or crisis.
 
“Research indicates that the risk of suicide for people who have been hospitalised for a previous attempt is up to 20 to 40 times higher than the general population, and the three months after an attempt is a particularly vulnerable time,” said Ms Reay.
 
A recent review by the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry found that coordinated proactive aftercare has the potential to decrease suicide attempts by up to 19.8%. The Way Back NSW model of care ensures people have support for up to three months following a hospital admission for suicidal crises or a suicide attempt.
 
“The Way Back NSW service model provides anon-clinical psychosocial support through a proactive outreach approach. In this model, the support coordinator’s lived experience of suicide is recognised and valued. Each coordinator will also have access to clinical advice and supervision and will play a vital role in linking clients to their existing networks, such as carers, family and friends, and to existing clinical and community-based services,” said Ms Reay.
 
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