Statewide infrastructure planning of public mental health services

Ensuring people have access to the right care, at the right time and in the right place is important for better mental health. The Mental Health Commission is working with the Department of Health to relocate resources, moving some existing hospital beds closer to where people live, funding new beds and developing new initiatives such as transitional services.

The Joondalup subacute facility has commenced operation in March 2013 as the first mental health transitional service in Western Australia. Transitional services, also known as step-up/step-down services, will provide support for people who are at risk of becoming unwell and for people leaving hospital, who require support that is more intensive, before returning home. The Joondalup 22 bed transitional service is a key part of the ten year strategic policy Mental Health 2020: making it personal and everybody’s business.

The opening of the Broome Acute Psychiatric Unit (APU) is another important step by the Mental Health Commission to ensure services are closer to where people live. The APU is co-located within the recently opened Broome Mental Health Unit and will provide a vital service for people with mental illness living in rural and remote Western Australia.

Future initiatives for bringing support closer to local communities include:

• A further 6 inpatient beds at Broome Hospital - due to open in 2013.
• Construction of 30 inpatient beds at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital - beginning in 2013.
• 7 new beds at Albany Hospital, taking capacity to 16 inpatient beds - due to open 2013.
• 30 inpatient beds at Fiona Stanley Hospital - due to open 2014.
• 20 inpatient beds at the New Children’s Hospital - due to open 2015.
• 56 inpatient beds at Midland Hospital - due to open 2015.
• Further transitional services are proposed for 2014 and 2015 in Rockingham, Broome and the Goldfields region.