The Hodgman Liberal Government will build a brand new 12-bed dedicated mental health facility on a greenfield site at St John's Park in New Town, delivering more capacity for our mental health system and extra mental health beds.
An additional $9 million in new funding will support the construction of this new facility, with a total build budget of $11.5 million.
It is clear we need additional mental health beds to take pressure off the Royal Hobart Hospital emergency department. The St John’s Park facility will replace the 10 new beds initially proposed at Mistral Place, and will be a bigger and better purpose-built facility with future opportunities to expand capacity.
This means our total commitment to deliver 25 extra mental health beds has now expanded to 27 extra beds, which is further proof that this Government is absolutely committed to meeting increasing demand.
While this facility is under construction, we will establish a 12-bed equivalent mental health Hospital in the Home service for the first time ever in Tasmania, based on clinical advice of the Department of Health and the Chief Psychiatrist Dr Aaron Groves.
This innovative and safe service model is used in other states around Australia and allows patients to receive hospital level care whilst being accommodated in their own home, where they can feel safe and close to family support.
This service will reduce the current pressure on the ED, ensuring more Tasmanians living with mental ill-health can receive the care they need, in the right place, at the right time. The immediate benefits will be felt by the Royal Hobart Hospital, as additional bed options means reduced pressure on our staff and patients.
The decision to no longer pursue Mistral shows the Government is continuing to listen to our clinicians and frontline staff, with consultation led by the Chief Psychiatrist ensuring robust advice on this matter.
The mental health of Tasmanians is a top priority for the Hodgman Liberal Government, and that is why we have listened to the experts to develop our $95 million mental health plan, which has the support of key stakeholders and is being rolled out right now. As well as these 27 community-based mental health beds, we are delivering new adolescent mental health beds for the first time ever in Tasmania – at the LGH and RHH.
The Government is working hard to deliver a mental health system Tasmanians deserve, that incorporates the right mix of acute, community and preventative care.
We will continue to prioritise mental health services to make Tasmanians’ lives better.