Riverina Clinic: New mental health facility will be be a first for the region
Five blocks along the Sturt Highway could soon be transformed into a multimillion-dollar private mental health centre, transforming care for residents of the Riverina.
The Wagga News
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A proposal for a multi-million dollar mental health facility is planning to transform the way people are treated for mental health issues.
Wagga Council is currently assessing a development application for a $7 million mental health facility.
The clinic, proposed to be known as the Riverina Centre, would aim to complement the sole public psychiatric service offered in Wagga.
“For the first time in the region, there will be the opportunity for patients to experience true continuity of care,’’ the development application stated.
“Patients will be able to see the same psychiatrist at each stage of their recovery journey, starting with their initial consultation, following through admission and outpatient follow-up.
“They will receive treatment that not only involves expertise in psychiatry, but expertise in the individual patient.
“Because the Riverina Clinic is a collaborative psychiatry effort, private patients will also have immediate access to expert second opinions and treatment, should their recovery challenges require it.
Occupying the land from 336 to 344 Edward St, the one story complex would include administration staff areas, meeting rooms, twelve private residential bedrooms with ensuites for participants of the inpatient clinic, communal accommodation areas for residents to foster independent living through group activities and clinical treatment, an electroconvulsive therapy and Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation facility, an
outpatient clinic to supplement the inpatient services, and carparking.
“The Riverina Clinic will provide a comforting setting for its occupants, with a spacious feel achieved through natural daylight and a strong visual connection with the outside landscaped areas,” the application stated.
“The design also encompasses a sense of safety and privacy, achieved through the transition of public to private spaces, both visually and acoustically.
The application was submitted to Council in September by Canberra based architects Daryl Jackson Alastair Swayn.