300 scholarships will be available for staff caring for people with severe mental illness to improve the care experience in the community. 

$800,000 over the next two years will be invested into the new scholarship program for non-government organisation (NGO) staff. 

“Our NGO networks play a crucial part in helping people who live with mental illness experience a better quality of life by offering specialised assistance,” Minister for Mental Health Tanya Davies said. 

“Expanding the availability of community-based supports is part of the NSW Government’s commitments to our 10 year reform of mental health care, and a skilled workforce is essential to delivering this,” she added. 

NGO staff will be able to study either Certificate IV in Mental Health or a Diploma in Mental Health under the scholarship program. 

“NGOs in regional, rural and remote parts of NSW will be targeted to ensure staff everywhere across the State have access to mental health training,” Ms Davies said. 

This program is part of the 2018 Patient Experience initiative, and aims to deliver a patient-centric care across NSW. 

This will be an additional scholarship stream to the other nursing and midwifery scholarships provided by NSW Health. 

Some of the scholarship programs that will close soon on 30 April 2018 include Research Scholarships, Innovation Scholarships, and Judith Meppem Scholarships. They are all aimed to provide the best practice and public health system in NSW.