Recent data from the Black Dog Institute revealed that three quarters of Australians claim their mental health has worsened due to COVID-19, with more than 80 percent of those surveyed also saying they felt very uncertain about the future.
HIF has offered Mental Health Navigator to selected members for the past 12 months where it’s provided value support and guidance. Mental Health Navigator removes barriers to accessing high-quality mental health support by providing quick access to a team of leading mental health professionals via Telehealth.
Within 10 days of initial contact, members will be assessed by a Mental Health Nurse, Psychiatrist and/or a Clinical Psychologist and provided with a comprehensive care plan to help improve their condition. After a treatment plan is created, patients then receive ongoing support for up to six months after their last appointment, for regular check-ins.
Justin James, CEO of HIF said that extending this valuable service to all members made sense due to the continuing uncertainty of the pandemic and to especially support our members in areas that are still feeling the effects of the pandemic.
“From March to August we saw a significant increase in the number of claims for Mental Health Navigator and in the number of psychiatric claims we are processing.”
“Our members are clearly feeling the effects of the pandemic and the devastating bushfires at the beginning of this year, so as a business, we have decided to provide all our members access to this vital support, no matter their level of cover.”
“We hope all our members seek treatment if they are feeling lonely, depressed or even a little lost. Only 54% of Australians with mental illnesses are currently seeking help, so we hope by providing a support service for free, it will help eliminate some of these barriers”.
Being a member-focused health fund, we are always listening to our members feedback to discover more ways we can help, and this service has proven to be really beneficial for many members who are doing it tough,” Mr James said.
HIF members can access Mental Health Navigator service by calling the dedicated hotline on 1800 830 082.
For further information regarding HIF’s mental health service, please visit HIF Mental Health Navigator.