Evaluation of PARC and SUSD Services in Victoria, Queensland, and Western Australia (2023)

Mind’s sub-acute services provide short stay mental health support services to help people transition from or avoid hospitalisation. This is a snapshot summary of the PARC/SUSD Outcome Measures Annual Report for FY-22/23. It is based on data collected from 1098 residents from 15 sites in Victoria (n = 534), Queensland (n = 393), and Western Australia (n = 162) and 111 carers. 

Between entry and exit, there was a consistent 4-point reduction in psychological distress, across all groups such as age, gender, relationship status, Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander status, and site. Younger residents (16 -29 years) and gender diverse residents had higher levels of psychological distress, compared to older residents and male and female identifying groups.

Evaluation of Virtual SUSD program between June 2020 and February 2022 (2021-2022)

The Queensland government provided funding to Mind Australia through its COVID‐19 Grant Fund to deliver virtual services from July 2020 to February 2022. The purpose of the funding was to help build community health resilience and preparedness to face the impact of COVID‐19. In this report, we present information about the client experience and impact of the Virtual SUSD program run at Caboolture and Logan SUSD (Step Up Step Down) services.

The program had good uptake with 63% of service users accepting the virtual support offered. Improvements in recovery, wellbeing and psychological distress were observed after Virtual SUSD participation. Service users reported a high level of satisfaction with the service – reporting they felt listened to, respected, and had a say in how the service was run. The service worked optimally when flexibly integrated with residential SUSD, for instance, as a “waitlist” alternative, a post‐discharge support or an alternative if SUSD was not possible.

The Prevention & Recovery Care Services Evaluation (2015-2018)

This statewide NHMRC Partnership Project led by The University of Melbourne evaluated 19 Adult PARC services over 4 years through quantitative and qualitative data analysis. 

This study confirms the benefits of PARC services in providing a safe environment which isn’t segregated from local communities. Improved outcomes associated with an admission to Victoria’s PARC services included personal recovery, well-being and reducing psychological distress, especially post-discharge. The greatest personal recovery gains were evident for people who were admitted directly from the community (i.e. step-up) rather than those whose stay followed an inpatient admission (i.e. step-down). 

Evaluation of a residential mental health recovery service in North Queensland (2017) 

This study describes the development of an evaluation framework for a new subacute residential mental health recovery service in regional Australia and reports on the formative evaluation outcomes. 

Service strengths included a recovery-focused practice that identifies and addresses the basic needs of service users. Service users were encouraged to develop their own goals and self-manage their recovery plans. The staff of the service were identified as working effectively in the context of the recovery process; the staff were seen as supported and valued. Areas for improvement included more opportunities for self-management for service users and more feedback from service users and carers.

Evaluation of the Frankston Youth Prevention and Recovery Care service (2017) 

This evaluation was conducted to assess whether the Frankston Youth Prevention and Recovery Care (YPARC) is meeting its objectives and to identify ways of improving the quality and effectiveness of the program. 

The evaluation found that the YPARC has made an important contribution to the care of young people experiencing complex mental health needs. There are high levels of satisfaction with the service among both young people and their carers who describe a safe, warm, youth friendly environment that contributes positively to their ongoing wellbeing and recover. Challenges include the consistent provision of evidence-based interventions. A potential risk for the future is maintaining the therapeutic environment in the context of system pressures. 

Evaluation of the Frankston YPARC - executive summary (PDF 1.2 MB)

The Prevention and Recovery Care (PARC) exit surveys (2013)

These two reports outline the process and outcomes of exit surveys conducted at Mind Prevention and Recovery Care (PARC) services.

The responses expressed very strong support from these respondents about PARC providing a safe, relaxing and supportive environment for their recovery journey. Key findings include: endorsement of the quality of staff interactions with consumers at PARC; Very positive comments about the value of the service to consumers; PARCs generally provide a safe and comfortable environment. Challenges were identified in relation to: Meeting the cultural and spiritual needs of consumers; Consumers having more opportunity to influence how the services are run; Having more meaningful and purposeful activities; Access to staff, communication and the discharge process.