Tara Murray
A 12-bed facility offering short-term mental health care for women is set to open at Sunshine Hospital next year.
Minister for Mental Health James Merlino and St Albans MP Natalie Suleyman unveiled plans for the Women’s Prevention and Recovery Care (PARC) facility last week.
The centre will be operated by NorthWestern Mental Health and will provide 24-hour support and treatment in a home-like setting.
The facility will be the first in the state to provide accomodation of accompanying dependents.
The facility has been designed to create a safe and welcoming environment with private bedrooms complete with ensuite bathrooms, a communal kitchen, dining and living areas, breakout spaces and an outdoor garden.
The tender phase to appoint a builder is expected to get underway in the coming weeks.
Ms Suleyman said the facility will help fill a gap in mental health services,
“The new facility will offer women who are experiencing mental illness or who are in the early stages of recovery from an acute mental illness with recovery focused treatments, closer to their home, families and community,” she said.
“The Women’s PARC facility in Sunshine is one of 25 Prevention and Recovery Care facilities across Victoria that will help fill the transitional gap between community and hospital-based care.”
The program is part of the Victorian government’s $325.7 million commitment to mental health outlined in its 10-year Mental Health Plan.
It also responds to key recommendations made by the Royal Commission into Victoria’s mental health system to modernise and build service capacity and provide better, tailored models of care.
