GP PSYCHIATRY SUPPORT LINE – 1800 16 17 18

• My patient is on a certain medication and is now pregnant or trying to fall pregnant.
• My patient is exhibiting symptoms of bipolar disorder.
• Following a traumatic experience my patient has presented with PTSD.
• I have a teenage patient showing early signs of suicidal ideation.
• I have an elderly patient with anxiety and a history of intolerance to SSRIs.
• My patient has a history of opioid abuse and appears to be “Dr Shopping”.
• I’m seeing a child, whose parents are recently divorced. They are struggling with depression and showing signs of self harm.
• My patient’s husband has been diagnosed with terminal cancer. She is using alcohol to help her cope with her anxiety and depression.
• I have a patient with schizophrenia who is complaining of severe headaches due to their current medication.
• I have reason to suspect that my patient’s parent is abusing the medication prescribed to her child.
• Current medication doesn’t appear to be helping my patient with their insomnia.
• My patient has severe anorexia, refuses to eat and has almost halved their weight.

A chat with a support line psychiatrist can make a difference in helping you and your patients get through these difficult situations. Following each consultation, a written report will be sent to the GP within 24 hours.

Call the GP Psychiatry Support Line team on 1800 16 17 18 with. your AHPRA number handy.  If you prefer to register online, please allow 24 hours for your registration to be processed. 

Yes, this is a free service, exclusively for GPs (not consumers). The GP Psychiatry Support Line is funded by the Australian Government.

Between 7am and 7pm, (AEST) Monday to Friday (excluding public holidays)

As many times as you wish.

Once you are registered, you can make bookings online at: http://www.gpsupport.org.au

Yes. The psychiatrists have worked in the public system and have experience working with younger patients. In more difficult cases, you can request a booking to speak to a psychiatrist with more in-depth experience.

After each consultation, GPs are sent a digital version of the notes discussed during each call.

Yes, you can. However, you may need to make a booking to speak with the same psychiatrist. Make note of your previous Enquiry ID when you make this booking if you wish to discuss the same patient on multiple consultations.

No.  It is exclusively for GPs to talk to qualified psychiatrists.

This is a free service for GPs and separate from Medicare.

The service has received over 1000 GP reports where they have scored the service against 4 categories. GPs were asked to rate the service out of 5 on the following:

• “I was satisfied with the service”
• “I felt the psychiatrist understood the issue”
• “The advice met my clinical needs”
• “The timeliness of the service met my needs”

The average score in all areas is 4.83 out of 5.