Ramsay Psychology to open on McLeod St, set to bring up to 18 new psychologists to Cairns

A vital injection of mental health specialists to the Far North will follow the opening of a new psychology clinic in Cairns this week. Read more.

A vital injection of mental health specialists to the Far North will follow the opening of a new psychology clinic in Cairns this week.

Ramsay, the parent company of Cairns Private Hospital, will open its newest psychology outpatient clinic at 220-226 McLeod St on Thursday, January 19.

Ramsay Psychology CEO David McGrath said the clinic will start with three psychologists but the goal is to scale to 18 psychologists operating out of nine suites within 12 months, which will deliver a full-time mental health care practice to Cairns’ citizens.

Rural and regional communities have long been challenged to find healthcare workers, but the new clinic’s goal is to bring 18 psychologists to Cairns within 12 months.

“Many people who have mental health problems can be treated by a mental health clinic in a community setting. We are providing that access for people,” Mr McGrath said.

“The demand for mental health professionals is a national issue that has been driven up significantly over the past few years by events such as the pandemic and now inflationary pressures on households.

“Rural and regional communities have also had challenges in recruiting a healthcare workforce. What we’re providing here is a response to that by improving access in a regional community.”

Mr McGrath said access to the psychology service at McLeod St won’t be any different to accessing a psychologist at a private practice.

“Provision of psychology services differs from solo to group practice with regard to clinical governance,” he said.

Ramsay Psychology CEO David McGrath. Picture: Ramsay Website

“We have processes that ensure the quality of our practice is maintained through quality-based benchmarking … we also have processes that ensure recruitment of various specialists.

“When people are making a choice to come to us, they are making a choice of clinic that ensures clinical governance.”

Mr McGrath said the practice will also scale in terms of specialist expertise. He also said the practice would be co-located with other health specialist such as physiotherapists and occupational therapists, providing an important diversity of care for patients.

“People often don’t have the same set of problems and often need help across a range of services. We’ll be able to link people between services,” he said.

“People may need psychologists who specialise in relationships, substance abuse, mood disorders, anxiety disorders, sleep disorders … some people want to be able to choose the gender and age of their psychologist. Eventually, people will be able to make those selections as we scale over the 12 months.

“The important thing is we meet the needs of the community. We’ll be listening to the community.”

Originally published as Ramsay Psychology to open on McLeod St, set to bring up to 18 new psychologists to Cairns