Nurse practitioners working in rural and remote areas should be allowed to write mental health treatment plans to improve young people’s access to psychological care, Orygen says.

The youth mental health centre operator says there is a need to boost services and support for patients aged between 15 and 25 in rural areas, which are limited but in high demand.

Orygen, which currently operates five Headspace centres, says suicide remains the leading cause of death in the age group and there has been a rise in calls to the Royal Flying Doctor Service for young people with mental health symptoms.

A major barrier was the lack of GPs in rural and remote areas to prepare mental health treatment plans needed to access Medicare funding for psychological care, the provider said in a report released Wednesday.