Australia

Mental health specialists from Asia undertake placements in Melbourne

July 11, 2013

Over the first half of 2013, the POST Program hosted 11 Fellows from Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore. Clinical attachment fields have included psycho-geriatric care, neuropsychiatry, accreditation and quality and post-traumatic stress disorder.

The purpose of their visit was to learn about a variety of mental health services in Victoria, and to adapt those lessons into their home countries.

When asked how he would apply his learning’s from his attachment in psycho-geriatric care, Malaysian Psychiatrist, Dr Ka Hin Lau noted that he would like to develop a new service utilising a non-pharmacological approach to manage the behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia in nursing homes.

Other Fellows noted that they would like to include the establishment of peer support plans for mental health nursing staff and preparation for the future development of multi-disciplinary teams, mobile, and community assessment teams.

The POST program offers tailored clinical training fellowships in mental health for individual psychiatrists, nurses and allied health professionals from the Asia-Pacific region.