Construction boost

HUNDREDS of local jobs have been created across three significant construction projects which will provide significantly improved access to mental health support and are all now underway.

Geelong’s new Mental Health and Drug and Alcohol Services Community Hub, the new mental health unit at North Geelong’s McKellar Centre and the new mental health hub at the Emergency Department at University Hospital also respond to the key recommendations of the Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System.

Work on the new world-class, 16-bed acute mental health facility at Barwon Health’s McKellar Centre will create and sustain more than 230 local construction jobs.

The facility’s frame will be constructed as individual modules off-site, then transported and completed onsite – reducing disruption to the operational hospital and local residents while construction is underway.

Designed in consultation with people with lived experience of the mental health system, the facility will provide more than 5,800 days of care, supporting about 355 people each year.

The facility will reduce pressure on University Hospital Geelong’s emergency department, delivering inpatient acute mental health services and community-based care in a contemporary, safe and high-quality hospital setting.

Geelong-based Lyons Construction has also begun work on the $16 million Mental Health and Drug and Alcohol Services Community Hub in central Geelong, with construction on track to be completed in late 2022.

Operated by Barwon Health, the five-storey hub will provide better access to treatment and support services for people experiencing mental health illness and addiction.

The hub will consolidate existing services onto one contemporary, fit-for-purpose site, with clinicians providing telephone, online, walk-in, at-home and outreach services over extended operating hours.

The facility will also include space clinicians and researchers to collaborate to improve mental health outcomes across the region.

Barwon Health mental health, drugs and alcohol services clinical director Associate Professor Steve Moylan said Barwon Health’s Mental Health, Alcohol and Other Drugs Hub in the Emergency Department, due to open later this year, would provide a more therapeutic environment and service connections for those seeking MHAOD care.

“Our Emergency Department assesses about a dozen people with primary mental health concerns each day,” Prof. Moylan said.

“Estimates suggest about three per cent of the population would benefit from treatment with an area mental health service each year; in the G21 region, we would estimate this as being just over 10,000 people annually.”

However, we understand that the service system, as reported in the Royal Commission report, has not been capable of meeting this demand, which is why we are very excited about the reforms stemming from the Royal Commission that will enable both greater access and greater quality of care for our communities.

Geelong MP Christine Couzens said integrated mental health treatment and support services would make a real difference in the Geelong region to help respond to the growing needs of the community “and we are proud to be getting it done”.

Acting Bellarine MP Gayle Tierney said the significant infrastructure projects were expected to create and sustain hundreds of local jobs, providing a boost to the local economy as pandemic recovery continued.