Barwon Health, Deakin to support new mental health centre

BARWON Health and Deakin University are part of a new Victorian government-supported initiative aimed at improving mental health and wellbeing support for adults and older Victorians.

The two local organisations will be key regional partners in the Victorian Collaborative Centre for Mental Health and Wellbeing, which will be based in Melbourne.

The centre will be led by the Royal Melbourne Hospital and The University of Melbourne and bring together a network of 20 metropolitan and regional health services and research institutions to lead cutting-edge research in mental health treatment and services.

It will be the first of its kind in Australia and has been established in response to recommendations from the Royal Commission into Victoria’s mental health system.

The statewide partnership program will focus on improving people’s experiences of the mental health system, including people who use mental health and wellbeing services, their loved ones and people who work in the sector.

Barwon Health and Deakin University has a long-standing partnership in research and clinical leadership in mental health.

The partnership has grown to include the Institute for Mental and Physical Health and Clinical Translation (IMPACT), the Institute for Health Transformation (IHT) and the Change to Improve Mental Health (CHIME) Translational Research Partnership.

CHIME director Renae Carolin said the local institutions were ideally positioned as key regional partners to continue to develop excellence in research and innovation to improve mental health in Barwon and South-West Victoria.

“We welcome the opportunity to contribute our expertise in regional health service delivery and translational research in mental health, together with our consumer and carer lived experience, to the Centre’s shared vision and mission.

“In particular, we look forward to helping to shape the goals and direction of the new Centre, which has the potential to transform research and clinical care to provide world leading mental health treatments and services to our community.”

Deakin’s Faculty of Health executive dean Alfred Deakin Professor Rachel Huxley said Deakin’s expertise in clinical trials, nutritional psychiatry and public health and delivery would contribute positive outcomes for the centre.

“This exciting collaboration across a wide range of partners will increase the Centre’s ability to test new ideas, address gaps in evidence and translate research into effective models of care.

“We share a collective vision to place lived experience expertise and leadership at the centre of our work to improve people’s experience of the mental health and wellbeing system.”

Over the next six months, the centre will identify and begin work on early priorities for research and service delivery opportunities.