Understanding what matters

Underpinned by the Collaborative Recovery Model (CRM), our services take a person-centred approach designed to support the translation of recovery principles and research knowledge into service practice.

The CRM redevelopment project has involved an extensive review of the literature and science relevant to our field. We have looked at the gaps between current services and social issues. These gaps include what people struggle with and where they are disadvantaged by current systems. We also looked to understand what matters most and what helps people in terms of living well.  

We have spent time finding out what is going on for consumers – how they experience our service practice, what they value, what they need now. We also have been investigating what is going on for staff when they are out there doing their work.

The work over the last twelve months has meant, sifting through and connecting all these aspects of knowledge and figuring out what they mean for our practice going forward.

The strength of the CRM development project is that it allows us to amplify the most valuable aspects – the focus is on each person, their needs and aspirations - in the context of what is going on their lives, their communities and the wider socio-political-environment.

We continue to embed the key ideas that have emerged from the development project into our service practice including collaborating with staff and teams across Neami to consider and adopt these ideas in a way that is appropriate to their service context.

Across Neami and Me well, staff take a recovery-based view of safety. We seek to promote positive approaches that prioritise opportunities and hope and supports the dignity of risk. This year we developed the comprehensive support for our clinical staff to integrate and contribute to achieving positive outcomes for consumers.

We launched a new Quality, Safety and Clinical Governance Framework and welcomed our first National Clinical Lead to reinforce our approach to delivering recovery-orientated clinical support. We have found that where we can hold the clinical governance, we allow for a recovery focus to inform practice across the range of support.

By working as part of our community teams, clinical staff have been able to bring their perspectives and respond to consumer need. Remaining flexible and adaptive has given consumers more choice and enables the benefits of continuity of care.

We have seen this year, through services such as YFlex in Victoria, Connect to Wellbeing in Queensland, our Step Up Step Down services in Western Australia and New South Wales, and as the lead in the Links to Wellbeing consortium in South Australia, we have a role to play in demonstrating a hybrid approach to support is a way to achieve greater impact for consumers and local communities.