❓ Dr. Hames asks about the opening of the Rockingham step-up, step-down mental health facility. The Minister responds positively, highlighting its benefits, cost-effectiveness, and collaborative nature.
AnsweredQoN 780Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
MENTAL HEALTH — ROCKINGHAM STEP-UP, STEP-DOWN
FACILITY
780. Dr K.D. HAMES to the Minister for
Mental Health:
Can the minister please update the
house on the opening of the $5.9 million community step-up, step-down mental
health care facility in Rockingham?
FACILITY
780. Dr K.D. HAMES to the Minister for
Mental Health:
Can the minister please update the
house on the opening of the $5.9 million community step-up, step-down mental
health care facility in Rockingham?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for his question.
This is a very, very exciting initiative down in the Rockingham–Kwinana–Peel
group and it is one that I am very, very proud to be part of. This facility
provides a unique service and is our second step-up, step-down facility. We are
planning on a number of these to come forward because they provide a different
service. They provide a service that assists patients whose mental health might
have deteriorated. Rather than appearing at an emergency department at a hospital,
they have the ability to go to a place before that occurs. At the same time, it
provides a recovery model so people who are transitioning out of a hospital can
receive individual support and care, and a living situation in which all their
needs are met. They can then transition back into the community with more
success than if they were just transitioning straight from hospital. What is
exciting about this is that it is a key initiative of our mental health plan—patients
can use this model rather than just going straight into emergency departments
and involuntary units. This sort of service is much more acceptable to the
community and the people involved. This is about people and not just about beds
and things like that. Another important
thing is that this area—the member for Dawesville knows it well—has
had a strong focus on community treatment for many years. Mind Australia is the
operating body and is part of this collaboration. In the build-up to the
opening today, there was collaboration between the South Metropolitan Health
Service, the Rockingham Peel Group and Mind Australia—that is the three
of them. The collaboration has been absolutely outstanding and something we
have not seen before. Therefore, all the components are working well. In conjunction,
non-government services are very much part of providing those additional
support programs. It is a unique opportunity we are seeing down there and I think
we will find it will produce great results.
Another reason we are very
pleased about this is that it can be provided at a very reasonable cost. A
hospital mental health bed would cost on average about $1 384 a day. In a facility
such as this a bed costs $595 a day, which makes it a very cost-effective model
and probably produces a much better outcome for the people concerned.
It is Mental Health Week this week
and we have seen that come out loudly and clearly. This is a topic that we need
to talk and be very open about. Seeing the facility this morning was absolutely
encouraging. Of course, it is light, bright, open, in the community and part of
our health benefits. I am very pleased to be part of that. I look forward to
further announcements on step-up, step-down facilities and I am very pleased
for the people in the Rockingham–Kwinana–Peel area for this
service.
This is a very, very exciting initiative down in the Rockingham–Kwinana–Peel
group and it is one that I am very, very proud to be part of. This facility
provides a unique service and is our second step-up, step-down facility. We are
planning on a number of these to come forward because they provide a different
service. They provide a service that assists patients whose mental health might
have deteriorated. Rather than appearing at an emergency department at a hospital,
they have the ability to go to a place before that occurs. At the same time, it
provides a recovery model so people who are transitioning out of a hospital can
receive individual support and care, and a living situation in which all their
needs are met. They can then transition back into the community with more
success than if they were just transitioning straight from hospital. What is
exciting about this is that it is a key initiative of our mental health plan—patients
can use this model rather than just going straight into emergency departments
and involuntary units. This sort of service is much more acceptable to the
community and the people involved. This is about people and not just about beds
and things like that. Another important
thing is that this area—the member for Dawesville knows it well—has
had a strong focus on community treatment for many years. Mind Australia is the
operating body and is part of this collaboration. In the build-up to the
opening today, there was collaboration between the South Metropolitan Health
Service, the Rockingham Peel Group and Mind Australia—that is the three
of them. The collaboration has been absolutely outstanding and something we
have not seen before. Therefore, all the components are working well. In conjunction,
non-government services are very much part of providing those additional
support programs. It is a unique opportunity we are seeing down there and I think
we will find it will produce great results.
Another reason we are very
pleased about this is that it can be provided at a very reasonable cost. A
hospital mental health bed would cost on average about $1 384 a day. In a facility
such as this a bed costs $595 a day, which makes it a very cost-effective model
and probably produces a much better outcome for the people concerned.
It is Mental Health Week this week
and we have seen that come out loudly and clearly. This is a topic that we need
to talk and be very open about. Seeing the facility this morning was absolutely
encouraging. Of course, it is light, bright, open, in the community and part of
our health benefits. I am very pleased to be part of that. I look forward to
further announcements on step-up, step-down facilities and I am very pleased
for the people in the Rockingham–Kwinana–Peel area for this
service.
Explore WA Government Data
Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.
Explore more
Government Gazette
Appointments, regulatory notices, planning changes.
Hansard
Debates, questions, speeches and sentiment.
Tabled Papers
Reports and documents tabled in Parliament.
Committees
Committee profiles and recent reports.
Regulations
Subsidiary legislation with filters and summaries.
Bills
Proposed laws and parliamentary progress.
Acts
Current WA legislation and summaries.
Explanatory Memoranda
Bills with EMs (text/PDF) available.
Members
MP profiles, party breakdown and rankings.
Pollie Rankings
Data-driven rankings across 19 categories.
Amendment Chains
Track how schemes and regulations evolve over time.