• David Perkins, Meg Hamilton, Emily Saurman, Teresa Luland, Charles Alpren, and David Lyle.
• Broken Hill University Department of Rural Health, University of Sydney, Corrindah Court, Broken Hill, NSW 2880, Australia.
• Aust J Rural Health. 2010 Dec 1; 18 (6): 217-22.

Objective  To evaluate an innovative rural service offering comprehensive primary health care for mental health service clients.Design  A formative evaluation using mixed methods.Setting  A rural NSW community.Participants  Fifteen health care providers and 120 adult clients.Intervention  A monthly clinic held in a general practice to provide primary health care for clients of the community mental health team.Main Outcome Measures  Client utilisation and clinic activity data. Provider views of service effectiveness, possible improvements and sustainability.Results  The GP Clinic has operated successfully for 2.5 years without access block. Some 52% of clients had no physical illness and 82% were referred to other health and community services. In total, 40% continued to attend the clinic while 32% went on to consult a GP independently. Client access to care improved as did collaboration between the community mental health team and primary care providers.Conclusion  The GP Clinic is a straightforward and flexible service model that could be used more widely.© 2010 The Authors. Australian Journal of Rural Health © National Rural Health Alliance Inc.

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