Health professionals will have the opportunity to increase their knowledge and skillset in older people’s mental health thanks to an additional $50,000 scholarship investment by the NSW Government.

The funding builds on previous investments of $300,000 over three years for older people’s mental health education scholarships for NSW Health staff.

Minister for Mental Health Bronnie Taylor said the additional funding in older people’s mental health education would support the delivery of safe, high quality care across the sector and continue to futureproof the workforce.

“This additional funding for scholarships will increase access to professional development and training opportunities for staff and enhance the care they provide to older people with mental health needs.”

The scholarships are available to NSW Health staff and staff in partner services who provide mental health care and support for older people with mental health.

Minister for Seniors Mark Coure said the additional investment will support the state’s growing population of older people and their mental health needs.

“There are more than 1.9 million seniors living right across NSW, and that number will only continue to grow, which means potentially more people needing assistance with their mental health,” Mr Coure said.

“By investing in our health professionals, we will have more people for seniors to turn to when they need help with their mental health.”

People who wish to find out more about the scholarships and how to apply can do so via HETI OPMH scholarship. Applications will be assessed by the Health Education and Training Institute in partnership with NSW Health.

The scholarships will be available for study in semester one, 2023 and build on those offered in 2021-22, which have been distributed across metropolitan and rural areas.

More information is available online at Health, Education and Training.