A new 24/7 mental health and wellbeing centre has opened in Sunshine, with the first patients set to be admitted this month.
Mental Health Minister Ingrid Stitt officially opened the Sunshine Mental Health and Wellbeing Centre located at Sunshine Hospital on October 8.
“This new facility will ensure Victorians with acute mental illness receive the immediate and specialised treatment they need in a therapeutic setting, supporting their path to recovery,” Minister Stitt said.
The new centre which features 52 acute hospital-based beds follows on from recommendations from the Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System.
The state government will provide 260 new acute public mental health beds across Victoria as part of the mental health beds expansion program to address increased demands on the system.
The new beds aim to reduce pressure on the Sunshine Hospital emergency department and give Victorians experiencing acute mental illness access to urgent treatment in a specialised, safe, and high-quality setting.
Multidisciplinary care will be provided by psychiatrists, mental health clinicians and nurses for diagnoses like schizophrenia, psychosis, bipolar and severe personality disorders, and severe depression or anxiety.
Designed in consultation with people with lived experience of the mental health system, the facility features sensory rooms, de-escalation rooms, internal courtyards and enclosed garden areas, staff and family lounges, and treatment rooms.
Kororoit MP Luba Grigorovitch welcomed the opening of the new centre that is set to serve the growing community of Melbourne’s west.
“Having this facility in the heart of the west is going to make a big difference for people in our community experiencing mental illness – also ensuring their family can be close by to provide support when they need it,” she said.
The state government said it is estimated the centre will provide more than 18,900 days of care to more than 1,150 more people every year.
