The Pinnacle primary care psychiatrist provides Waikato Pinnacle GPs with support and advice to manage mental health conditions in general practice, and to give assistance with comprehensive patient assessments and management.
This is a referral service only. It is not a claimable service.
This is NOT a clinical guideline.
All Pinnacle practices in the Te Whatu Ora Waikato region can refer to this service.
Dr Tony Muller is available to discuss all psychiatric cases with GPs that they encounter. Whilst he is a general adult psychiatrist with experience in a number of areas, he is happy to support general practitioners to access the right information from the right service.
No exclusions.
This service is during normal business hours only. It is not a crisis service (i.e. if admission to hospital or assessment within 48 hours is required, then the Crisis Assessment and Home Treatment team will need to be contacted via Te Whatu Ora).
Dr Muller’s advice can be accessed by sending a BPAC e-referral and ticking the box for "Request for non-urgent advice from primary care psychiatrist". A brief paragraph that specifies your clinical question or difficulty you are having is very helpful in ensuring the advice you receive meets your needs.
Dr Muller can also be contacted via phone during working hours for advice that is either more pressing, or requires a discussion.
If you phone for advice, please also send Dr Muller a brief BPAC referral that includes a copy of your consultation note and summary of the agreed recommendations discussed, as he may have additional information to add.
Dr Muller is not able to offer patient consultations in this role.
Secondary Care continues to be the referral destination for severe mental illness (e.g. severe depression, psychosis and mania) beyond the capability of primary care.
This service is funded by Te Whatu Ora.
Tony Muller, Consultant Psychiatrist
The Te Tumu Waiora integrated mental health and wellbeing service has been up and running in general practices in Taupō and Tūrangi since July 2019. The response from practices and the community has been overwhelmingly positive.
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