Community-based mental health care: bridging the gap between community care and primary care.

Australian nursing is undergoing major changes in practice, education and research in a climate of burgeoning health-care costs, and changing priorities and service directions. The government is searching for new ways to deliver services that are appropriate and equitable while focusing on containing costs. These are signs that it is an opportune time for nurses to test new roles, and one suggested way to provide extra cost-effective service is through the use of nurse practitioners. In order to improve the delivery of mental health services, the nurse practitioner specializing in mental health can provide a link between the community and the primary care provided by general practitioners. A proposed model for nurse practitioners in mental health is presented as a means of bridging this gap.