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Canberra Today 19°/23° | Tuesday, March 19, 2024 | Digital Edition | Crossword & Sudoku

Rattenbury greets private help with city’s mental health stress

An artist’s impression of The Deakin Clinic.

A $20 million investment in building Canberra’s only private adolescent mental health facility has been welcomed by Mental Health Minister Shane Rattenbury. 

Barwon Investment Partners and Healthcare Australia have today (September 11) confirmed plans for a centrally located, private mental health facility in Canberra’s health precinct to address what they say is “pent up demand” for local and accessible private mental health services in the ACT and beyond.

“We welcome their commitment to delivering high quality mental health care, and look forward to working with them as we collectively seek to address the changing nature of mental health service demand in our community,” says Minister Rattenbury.

To open by mid-2020 with 52 beds, The Deakin Clinic will be located on the corner of Strickland Crescent and Dennison Street, near Calvary John James Memorial Hospital, and private and public health services. The facility will grow to up to 80 beds over the short to medium term.

It is the fifth healthcare facility under the Barwon (investment) and Healthcare (facility operator) partnership. Healthcare’s expertise is the nation’s second largest private mental health provider.

On completion the facility will provide inpatient, day group program and outpatient adult mental health services for high prevalence mood disorders, trauma recovery services; as
well as adolescent and young adult mental health intervention and treatment.

Healthcare CEO Steve Atkins says the service mix has been carefully considered, in close consultation with the local community, industry representatives and clinicians from the public and private sectors.

“Our local consultation with clinicians to date suggests strong support for, and demand around adolescent and young adult, general adult mental health and trauma support services,” he says.

“Already, residents of the ACT and beyond are travelling interstate to access similar private mental health services. Our partnership with Barwon fast-tracks the delivery of critical mental health services, so the people of Canberra and beyond can access treatment close to home, with the necessary support from family and friends while they continue their recovery journey.”

 

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One Response to Rattenbury greets private help with city’s mental health stress

Christopher Emery says: 11 September 2019 at 2:34 pm

No much help to the majority who do not have private health insurance. We need expanded public mental health services too.

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